When Paths Collide
by ObjectiveObserverFromAfar
Summary: It was just supposed to be a routine police call, until Officer Melissa Daniels realized she was arresting one Merle Dixon. Little does she know events from hers and the brothers' pasts will intertwine their fates and determine their survival when the dead start walking. *Daryl/OC. Pre- and Post-ZA Dixon's and M for language, violence and sexy times. Starts right before Season 1*
1. Prologue

10 years before the end:

It was a warm, humid July night in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Up the back roads from the town of Clayton, a lone man lay on the couch on his front porch, the glow from his cigarette the only light visible in the darkness. The good thing about living in the middle of nowhere? No city or street lights to mar the night stars.

Daryl Dixon was laying back with one arm tucked behind his head, staring at the sky. He didn't get many nights like this where he could be alone and just relax. Between his brother's endless raucous parties and drug dealings, there was hardly a time when the house was empty, save for Daryl. He put the cigarette to his lips and inhaled a long, drawn out drag. He held his breath, feeling the burn of the smoke and chemicals settling in his lungs. When he couldn't take it anymore, he blew the smoke out in a long stream, watching as it disappeared into the night air. He could definitely get used to this.

The peacefulness of the moment was shattered when he heard the roar of motorcycle coming up the road. Daryl stood up, squinting into the darkness. He could make out the front light of a bike making its way up the long, winding dirt driveway. Late night visitors were a regular occurrence considering Merle's profession as a drug dealer, and night time transactions were more desirable; however, the haste with which the man stopped his bike and dismounted was unusual, to say the least. Recognizing the swagger of his brother as the man walked hurriedly up the house; Daryl leaned down and stubbed out his cigarette.

"Outta the way boy," Merle barked as he pushed past Daryl into the house, causing the younger man to stumble slightly and grab the arm of the couch for support. Daryl straightened and strode into the house, about to ask Merle what the hell his problem was when, he saw the older man's face.

Merle was white as a sheet and he was pacing back and forth across the small living room, running his hands through his cropped hair. He had a cell phone to his ear and was talking urgently into it. In all his twenty-six years, Daryl had never seen his brother like this.

"Ya think they saw us, Tommy?" Merle spoke into the phone, addressing his 'business partner' so to speak. Tommy was a friend of Will Dixon, Merle's father, and had helped get Merle into the drug business at a young age. Tommy's response caused Merle to sigh and collapse into the giant armchair in the living room, his face slightly relaxing and some color returning to his cheeks.

"What the hell happened out there, Merle? What's wrong with ya?" Daryl asked, looking down at his brother. Merle continued talking, ignoring Daryl's question.

"Which one did Ash hit? Who got him?" He leaned forward, a look of concentration as he spoke into the phone. There was a moment of silence as Merle listened to Tommy's response.

Merle leaned back in his chair, rubbing the back of his neck with his free hand. "He's dead, ain't he?"

Tommy's answer made Merle close his eyes and tilt his head back, an exhausted sigh escaping his lips.

Daryl's impatience took him over then and he towered over Merle. "Ya answer me when I talk to ya! What the hell is goin' on? First ya come in here lookin' like fuckin' death, than ya talk 'bout somebody fuckin' dyin'? Is Ash dead? What the hell, Merle?"

Merle stood up fast, dropping the phone, grabbing Daryl by the shirt and throwing him down to the chair. He put his hands on both arms of the chair, leaning down so he was mere inches away from Daryl's face. His tone was low. Dangerous.

"Ya wanna know so bad what happened, baby brother? I'll tell ya. What's the right phrase for it? Drug deal gone bad. Someone snitched, probably Austin. I'ma kill that mother fucker." Merle was breathing faster now, his eyes bugging out slightly. "Cops showed up. Tried ta get Ash ta come out. They been after his ass fer weeks cuz he makes the best crystal 'round here. Me n' Tommy were in the back waitin' ta get the product when the cops told him to come out. Next thing we knew..." Merle trailed off, backing away from Daryl to straighten himself. He turned his back to Daryl now. "Ash got out his gun. Aimed it out at the window an' fired a few rounds 'fore they got him."

Daryl furrowed his brow, confused at the reaction of the two men to the situation. "So, that's all that happened? Ash is dead an' now ya gone all pussy on me? Ya know if ya shoot at a cop ya gonna get shot back at. Ash was a dumbass."

Merle whirled around. "Yeah, wasn't just Ash that was shot. He hit some cops 'fore they got him!" He paused before he let the last sentence slip from his lips. "An' I think one of them was the chief."

Daryl felt his heart beat faster and rubbed his hands through his hair a few times. "But you 'n Tommy didn't kill him, right? They didn't see ya, so nothin' to worry—"

Merle exploded, running into Daryl and holding him to the wall, his arm pressed into the younger man's throat. The veins in his forehead seemed to bulge out as he screamed, "Got everythin' ta worry about shithead! I'm on probation, they find out I was on the scene when the chief was killed my ass is good as dead, so dontcha go 'round sayin' there's nothin' to worry about. Ya know cops, they's always lookin' out fer their own and they'll _burn _mah ass fer bein' there. Accomplice to murder or some shit. Not _yer _ass gonna get dragged back ta prison ta rot!"

Daryl was clutching at Merle's arm, his eyes slightly bugging from the extreme pressure being applied to his esophagus. He was struggling to pull his brother's arm away from his neck, but the older man was in such a rage it was almost pointless to try. Daryl knew his brother wouldn't kill him, but sometimes he didn't know how much pain the older Dixon was willing to inflict. It was only when Daryl pulled his arm back and punched Merle smack in the head that Merle let him go, stumbling back and holding a hand to his head.

"Goddamn, son of a bitch, that hurt." Merle shook his head to get rid of the stars that were forming from Daryl's well-aimed punch. He continued rubbing his head and bent down to pick up the discarded phone. Remarkably enough, Tommy hadn't disconnected the call.

"Ya alright then, brother? Didn't get ta see where ya rode off to, I high-tailed it outta there on ma bike fast as I could." Tommy's answer indicated he was fine. After a few more questions to wrap up loose ends, Merle hung up the phone and turned back to Daryl, who had resettled himself into the armchair.

Merle sat down on the old couch across from Daryl and cleared his throat. "Don't think the cops saw us. We ran out the back while they dealt with the mess out front. Probably heard our bikes but we parked far enough down the road they wouldn't have caught up to us."

Daryl continued watching his brother carefully while Merle continued, "We're gonna lay low a little while. With Ash out the heat's up so no one's gonna be cookin' for awhile."

Daryl nodded in agreement. "Probably a good idea."

Merle glanced at his brother and spoke matter of factly, "No one can know 'bout this."

Daryl took out a cigarette and lit the end, taking a slow drag. "Ya think ya can trust Tommy?"

Merle held out a hand and Daryl handed him the pack of cigarettes. Merle lit one of his own and leaned back on the couch, one arm behind his head. "Ole bastard won't say anything. He's old school. Won't rat out anyone."

Daryl leaned back and put one arm behind his head, unaware of how eerily similar he was to his brother's position right then. "Well, looks like we got nothin' ta worry 'bout then."

Merle took another drag of his cigarette. He stared at the ceiling, seemingly lost in thought.

"Yeah," he drawled softly. "Nothin' ta worry about."

**AN: I am excited post this story! Hope you like it and any reviews are most welcome, I thrive on constructive criticism.**

**Thanks to Bitch Goddess and MollyMayhem84 for their help in this, they are both amazing :)**


	2. Just Another Day

Five days prior to the outbreak:

Melissa Daniels waited to get her coffee in the small shop on Savannah Street in Clayton. She wished to God in heaven she could have stopped at a Dunkin' Donuts, but unfortunately there weren't any in this podunk mountain town she now called home. She was used to seeing a different coffee shop on each corner from her six years of living in New York. Unfortunately, she had returned home four years ago and her shock at the lack of anything and everything in this small town had not waned.

Clayton was a town of two thousand strong, and its population had held fast for at least the last twenty years. The homes lining the street were the old Southern Colonial style architecture of the pre-Civil War era, awe-inspiring in their stately elegance. It was the type of town that held yearly festivals celebrating things like the town's founders and the day the first business in town opened. It was the type of place people didn't need to own keys since they kept their homes unlocked all day, every day. Clayton was the type of place where you could walk down the street and say hello to everyone with a smile or a friendly wave, and if you didn't know the person you said hello to, you could sure as hell bet you knew someone that did. It was a typical southern town of sorts, what some may call "idyllic," "peaceful," and "well-preserved."

Melissa called it "Hicksville, USA."

"That'll be $3.65," the young teenage girl behind the counter drawled in a bored voice, and Melissa didn't blame her.

"Slow night?" Melissa asked as she searched through her pockets for loose change.

"It's 11:00 PM on a Friday night. Not a lot of people feel the need to caffeinate themselves this late." The girl gestured her thumb flippantly up the street, "most people around here prefer Jim's up the way," she said in reference to the local bar—the _only _local bar would have been more accurate. Melissa returned the cheeky response with her own sardonic smile.

"Unfortunately for those of us who work the night shift, coffee is as about as necessary as a saline drip for a dehydrated surgical patient." Melissa found the change she needed and handed it to the girl. "And Molly, for future reference when you have customers you might not want to make it a habit to sound like you hate your job so much."

Molly stuck her tongue out at Melissa. "When do we ever get new customers? It's just you, the rest of the police department, and the old bitties that come here for coffee and gossip in the mornin'. They drive me nuts. Nothin' new ever happens around here." Molly rolled her eyes and Melissa let out a small chuckle.

"Don't sound so bitter, Molly. It'll age you faster."

Molly gave another exaggerated eye roll and turned to put the cash in the register. Melissa felt the corner of her mouth twitch upward as she observed the teenager. She had babysat Molly for a good six years before she left for college when she was eighteen. The girl was as sassy now as she was when she was three years old and refused to get out of her Fisher Price toy car until Melissa pushed her the two miles around the lake near Molly's house. Melissa smiled as the teen turned back around, still seeing her as that young girl.

"Thanks for keeping the shop open a little later, Molly. The captain insists I work these damn night shifts even though I've been with the PD the last 4 years. You'd think they would give me a break." Melissa licked some coffee that had spilt down the side of her coffee cup.

"Maybe you could try and seduce him. I've heard that works in getting what you want," Molly smirked, but Melissa only shook her head in irritation.

"That's the last thing you do in a good 'ol boys profession, Molly. If you really want to reinforce women stereotypes-"

"Ok, ok!" Molly threw up her hands. "Don't be so damn serious. If I knew I was going to hear a feminist rant I would have kept my damn mouth shut!"

Melissa only shook her head and gave a little smile. "It's just, when you're the only woman on a squad of only fourteen officers, you don't want to get yourself a reputation."

Melissa fiddled with her coffee cup. It always made her equally proud and uncomfortable to talk about her status on the police force. She knew one of the reasons she had been let on the force was because the state of Georgia had increased Clayton's law enforcement budget, with the condition the department embrace the notion of "equal opportunity employment." The fact her father had been police chief for over fifteen years, and over half the current force had worked under him didn't hurt either.

"If that's your only order, I'm goin' to close up for the night. I have a date I should have been at like ten minutes ago." Molly scoffed, making a show of closing up the cash register and spraying down the countertops.

"Alright, alright, I can take a hint. Have fun on your date. Don't do anything I wouldn't do!" Melissa quickly emptied a couple packets of sugar into her coffee and put the lid back on tightly.

Molly smirked. "Guess that means I can run over to the Miller farm and let the cows outta the gate because Mr. Miller failed me in tenth grade gym class."

Melissa felt her face turn red and she cursed silently. "Course you can, Molly, but remember, since you confessed early, I can present this as a premeditated crime."

Molly huffed and started to clean up the counter. Melissa chuckled and walked out of the shop into the humid Georgia night air.

Melissa walked over to the black and white squad car she had been driving for the last four years. Settling behind the front seat, she turned on the engine and set her coffee cup in the console next to her. Some of the chatter on the radio caught her attention and she stopped to listen.

"All units on duty, please respond. We got reports of a domestic disturbance up on Shadyside and North Main." Melissa checked her location and quickly pressed the button to communicate with the dispatcher.

"This is Officer Daniels, I'm up on Savannah, I'm close. My ETA is—

"Daniels, we don't need you up there." The loud voice of Chief Nelson came through over the radio. "Michaels is within two miles. If you go, you'll need backup and we need everybody out on their regular routes tonight." Melissa scowled at the receiver in her hand. She spoke into the radio, keeping her voice even but strong. She didn't want to mouth off to her boss.

"Chief, I can handle a disturbance. I'm only five minutes away—"

Chief Nelson's voice came out more gruffly. "Daniels, I said Michaels is on it. You patrol your route and we'll call you if we need you."

"Chief, with all due respect, Michaels is dumber than a bag of hammers. He'll only fuck this up, come on, let me handle these goons…"

"Daniels, you keep pushin' me, I'll have you back at a desk tomorrow night." The chief's firm and quiet tone indicated that the conversation was most definitely over and Melissa backed down, but not without giving the middle finger to her radio.

"Ten-four. Sorry, Cap. Won't happen again. Daniels out." Cursing under hear breath, Melissa slammed the receiver down on its hook and whirled her car out of the parking lot, tires squealing as she raced towards her route on Sundance Lane.

8888888888888888888

Melissa was making another right hand turn onto Main Street when she felt her cell phone vibrating in her pocket. She didn't normally take personal calls during shifts, but there would only be one person calling her at this time of night. Pulling over so she wouldn't be talking on the phone and driving, she clicked the receive button.

"Hey, Nora, what's up?"

"Hi, Missy, what are you doing?"

Melissa smiled at the sound of her sixteen-year-old sister's childlike excitement. "Honey, I'm at work, you know that. But what are you doing up this late, is Ms. Warner still up?"

Nora huffed into the phone, sounding annoyed. "No, she's not. She's asleep on the couch. I told you I don't need a babysitter."

"Nora, sweetie, I really can't talk about this right now. Did you have a good night otherwise?"

"Yes. Ms. Warner and I baked cookies and watched A Walk to Remember. She cried so I got her some tissues." Nora rattled off a list of other activities she and Ms. Warner had completed, ranging from cleaning the kitchen to playing checkers.

"Well, sounds like you had yourself a busy night. Did you do your therapy exercises?" Melissa asked. There was a moment of silence and Melissa had to check to make sure she hadn't hung up the phone. "Nora, you there?"

Nora sighed a long drawn out sigh into the phone, as if she was going to make the biggest confession of her life. "No, I didn't. I didn't want to, and Ms. Warner said I didn't have to. I'm old enough to decide if I want to do them."

Melissa heard the tone of defiance in her little sister's voice and inwardly felt a surge of irritation. "Nora, you know the doctor said after your hip surgeries you need to do your physical therapy—"

"Missy, I don't want to do them anymore! I feel fine, why don't you believe me? I can take care of myself—"

"Okay, okay, Nora, I'm sorry, alright? Look, I really don't have time to get into this right now, but we can talk about it when I get home, alright?"

Another moment of silence passed and Melissa hoped Nora didn't feel like she was being brushed off.

"Okay, Missy, that sounds good."

"Alright sweetie, thank you." Melissa said.

"Missy?" Nora asked.

"Yeah?"

"Can we do something tomorrow?"

Melissa smiled into the phone. "We'll see, I have to sleep first. But when I get home we can make a big breakfast together. Does that sound good?"

"I would love that! We can make pancakes and eggs and bacon."

Melissa smiled, her stomach already starting to growl. "Alright Nora, I think it's time you went to bed. I'll see you in the morning?"

"Okay, Missy. Oh, and Missy? We'll be sisters forever, right?"

"Yes, Nora. And even longer." Melissa smiled at their variation on the old line from a Winnie the Pooh story. It was Nora's favorite storybook growing up, and the line was her favorite way of saying I love you.

Melissa hung up the phone, grateful she had dodged a fight with her sister, and determined she would talk to Ms. Warner about enforcing her sister's bedtime and physical therapy.

When she became Nora's guardian four years prior she had known that taking care of a sister with Down's Syndrome was going to be a challenge. Ever since Nora became a teenager, she had been trying to assert her independence and it had definitely tested the relationship between the two sisters. Melissa felt responsible for keeping her sister safe and protected from the dangers of the world, and it didn't help her cause when her sister argued with her at every turn.

Little by little, Nora was becoming more independent. A local social services agency had gotten Nora a job at a local hotel a few hours a week. It still made Melissa nervous, however, and Nora was constantly yelling at her, saying, "Missy, stop hovering." In the end, however, Melissa was proud of her sister and learned something new from her every day. Even though she despised Clayton, Melissa didn't regret the decision to come back to care for Nora.

88888888888888888888888

To say she was bored would have been an understatement. It was now 1:30 AM and by her count, Melissa had drunk four more cups of coffee, circled her route seventeen times, been reprimanded another three times for requesting to go on backup for Michaels, and had been listening to the same inane conversation between two of her colleagues for the last hour about how many times they had gotten laid in the last month.

'Bullshit,' she thought when she heard one of the officers bragging about the five rounds he had gone with the last woman he had picked up at the bar. She would never understand why men felt the need to brag (and lie) about their sexual prowess. Melissa was beginning to contemplate doing donuts in the street to keep herself entertained when the dispatcher came over the radio.

"Units, please be advised, Michaels is being taken off the street."

Melissa excitedly picked up the receiver. "This is Daniels. Do you need someone else on the scene?"

After a moment of silence, the dispatcher's voice replied. "At this time no. Michaels is being transported to the emergency room at Mountain Lakes Medical Center. All other units have secured the scene."

Melissa sighed with frustration, but then quirked an eyebrow when she realized what the dispatcher said. "What the hell happened to Michaels?"

"When he showed up there was a fight between two guys. One of them attacked Michaels, apparently bloodied him up bad. The guy bit his arm to shreds, got him in the face too. Backup took the guy down with a headshot. He's under medical care but EMT's said he'll be alright.

"They're thinkin' the guy was on PCP."

Melissa felt a shiver go up her spine.

"Oh, and Daniels, be advised you're the only one out there patrolling right now. If we have another call in, it's gonna be yours."

"Ten-four, I'm ready for anything. Daniels out." Melissa continued patrolling her route, listening to the local '80s station. After another half hour she parked her car and sat on the roadside, watching for any suspicious activity, not that there was ever anything even remotely suspicious in Clayton. The incident from earlier was a mere anomaly.

Melissa took out her gun and examined it, taking out the magazine and reinserting it. She did it again. And again. And again. When Melissa felt she had satisfactorily become pathetic enough to play with her gun for entertainment she put it away, slapping her cheeks to stay awake.

With a new thought of how to entertain herself, she reached under the passenger's seat, pulling out a black cloth sack. Melissa removed the contents and turned it over in her hands. She gazed on the leather sheath that had belonged to her great-grandfather. His initials were stitched into the worn, brown leather. It was soft and pliable from years of use, but still maintained its strong earthy smell. Her father had given her the sheath for her eighteenth birthday, much to her mother's chagrin, but it was what the sheath held that had made her hands clap in glee so long ago.

Melissa pulled out the trench knife that was issued to her great-grandfather in World War I, admiring the brass knuckles attached to the cast bronze handle. The double-edged blade was at least half a foot long, useful for the thrusting and slashing strokes of hand-to-hand combat it had been designed for. The end of the handle incorporated a metal extension that was crudely called a "skull-crusher." Melissa turned the blade over and the light caught the blue-gray glint of the steel. It was truly a thing of beauty, having been kept in pristine condition with TLC from her great-grandfather, grandfather, and father. And Melissa cared for it just as lovingly.

The knife itself wasn't what meant so much to her, however. It was the last gift her father had given her, three months before he died. He had managed to teach her a few combat moves with it, but had never gotten around to more advanced techniques. Melissa always thought of her dad with a mix of fondness and regret when she handled the weapon. Fondness because he had given her one of his prized possessions, and regret they didn't get the time together they deserved.

Melissa was broken out of her reverie when the dispatcher came out over the radio. "Daniels, come in, Daniels."

"Daniels here, what's going on?"

"Got a call in from Ted Johnson. Says he's got a patron up at Jim's that won't leave. Says the guy's a nasty old bastard." Melissa groaned. This was all she needed, some pissed off boozer throwing a temper tantrum; however, it was a call and it was something to do. She turned the patrol car on and headed to Jim's, hoping to God the drunk bastard put up a fight. She felt a little action would do her good.

88888888888888888888888888

Melissa pulled into the nearly empty parking lot, the red neon sign glowing obnoxiously on top of the dilapidated wooden building. Jim's was the local dive bar and its regular patrons were the riff raff of the Clayton community. Melissa remembered many nights she would sneak into Jim's when she was underage, only to be kicked out shortly after. Being the daughter of the local police chief did have its disadvantages.

She pulled into a parking space, cut the engine and got out of the car. She pulled her long brown hair back into a bun and walked up to the bar, looking at the burly man leaning against the open front door of the bar. His arms were crossed and he looked like he was ready to spit nails.

"Evening, Ted, or I guess it's more good morning at this point?"

The unhappy looking man hitched his thumbs in his jeans. "Too late fer me. I shoulda been closed up a half hour ago." Ted's eyes skimmed over her. "What they send you for, Melissa? Why they send a woman to do a man's job?"

Melissa curled her fists with anger. "Look, Ted, I'm not in any mood for your chauvinistic bullshit right now. The dispatcher made me come here and God knows there are a million other places I would rather be than here, so if you want to throw the asshole out yourself and risk an assault charge by all means—"

"Nah wait, Melissa, I'm just jokin' with ya." Ted put a hand out to her, gesturing toward the bar.

"C'mon, Melissa, please, get this bastard outta my bar, get yer hands dirty, and I'll give ya a drink, on the house. I just wanna go home. Wife's gonna kill me bein' out this late. We got a church picnic in the morning." He gestured toward the bar and Melissa rolled her eyes. She followed Ted into the dark and dank building.

"Jesus, Ted, you ever think about putting lights up in here?"

"Nah, customers say they like the 'atmosphere.'" He put up his fingers in air quotes and Melissa had to stifle a chuckle. She didn't really hate Ted, she had known the man for years and he was nothing more than a big teddy bear at heart. It was just his damn attitude that irked her. As they made their way into the back section of the bar, she could see a man slumped over with his head on a table, shot glasses and beer bottles littering the table around him.

"Jesus, Ted, didn't you think to cut him off?"

Ted cast a nervous glance in her direction. "There's no cutting one of them off, Melissa, you know that."

"No cutting whom off, Ted?" As she approached the sleeping man, in the dingy light she could make out the greying hair in a short military style crew cut, the light stubble over the cheeks, and the ruggedness of his facial features.

"Shit…" she said. If there was one drunken bastard she knew would put up a fight, it was this one.

"Merle fucking Dixon," she murmured.


	3. Dealing With a Dixon

**AN: Wow thank you so much to those that have reviewed, favorited, and followed so far!**

**Do not own Walking Dead or its characters, just my OCs.**

**Leave a little note on your way out, I love feedback. Anyway, enough rambling and on with the story!**

"He even alive?" Ted asked.

Melissa poked at the shoulder of the large man still sprawled on the tabletop. Upon feeling the offending finger disturbing his slumber, Merle waved his hand in her direction without looking at her, as if trying to swat away a mosquito. Melissa circled so she was in front of Merle and bent her knees so she was eye-level with his face. The man's eyes were moving rapidly under his eyelids, and a tiny sliver of drool was hanging out the side of his mouth.

Melissa never had direct involvement in any police action when it came to the lawlessness of the Dixon family, thanks to the sexist tendencies of her boss. In her teenage years when her father was alive and felt like instilling the fear of the law (as well as the male species in general) into her, he would tell stories of how old Will Dixon had beat up on his current flavor of the week and spent the night in the clink, or how Merle Dixon had been caught selling meth so many times when he was a teenager they had a cell in juvie with a nameplate just for him. She knew Merle had a younger brother that didn't have as much involvement with the law as Merle did, but the younger one was known for being a hot-head and solving more than one altercation with his fists.

Melissa wasn't quite sure what to do at that moment. She knew the proper protocol would be to simply wake Merle up, escort him out of the bar, and send him on his way-on foot, of course. The problem was that the man had a rap sheet a mile long and had the reputation to go with it, and she had never had to handle a perp of that caliber. Melissa was only allowed on traffic duty after her first year, and even then she was relegated to night shifts when nothing happened, and speed traps. The few times she was allowed to go on a real call she merely served as backup, or to remove an unruly drunk. Only this time the drunk was Merle Dixon, and she was pretty sure she wouldn't have been allowed to take the call if the chief had anything to say about it.

Merle groaned and slightly shifted in the seat. He raised his hand to his face, rubbing the drool away and promptly fell limp at his side again. Melissa straightened, knowing there was no way they would get him out of here unless they woke him up. She reached a hand out and shook his shoulder again, speaking in a loud voice. "Mr. Dixon, come on now."

Merle broke off mid-snore and turned his head so his other cheek was on the table. He was still out like a light. Melissa blew a hard breath through her lips, trying to think of a way to wake him up that didn't involve bodily force, because shaking him certainly wasn't helping. If she couldn't get him out of here then she would have probably have to call an ambulance to get him somewhere safe for the night, and the story around the department would be that poor little Melissa Daniels lacked the backbone to handle a Dixon. She couldn't let that happen.

Behind her she could hear Ted snicker. "Never send a hen to do a rooster's job."

Melissa whirled, her eyes narrowing with contempt. "You have something you wanna tell me, Ted?"

Ted shook his head, some of the amusement draining out of his face. "Nah, Missy, jus' thinkin' maybe some of the other officers kin handle him. Not sure yer daddy would have wanted ya messin' with one of these guys."

Melissa kept her tone even but spoke dangerously low. "My dad isn't here, Ted. It's my call, my rules. You got a problem with that?"

Ted only shook his head and crossed his arms, waiting for her to do something. Melissa mentally took a deep breath. She knew she should probably call for backup, but if she was ever going to be taken seriously as a cop in this town she needed to start now. She had been treated as fragile for long enough. Melissa spoke authoritatively now, trying to keep her voice even and steady. "Mr. Dixon, Merle, I'm Officer Daniels with Clayton PD. You don't get up we're gonna have a problem here."

Merle opened his eyes and squinted in her direction, his vision probably still blurry from the alcohol. His gaze travelled up and down her body and Melissa felt like he was undressing her with his eyes. "Well, look at what good ole Chief Nelson sent me. But it ain't mah birthday, so tell me, what's a pretty little thing like you doin' in a rough and tumble place like this?"

Melissa bristled, already disliking the redneck's dismissive attitude. "Ted here tells me you won't leave the premises. Right now you're trespassing, but you leave now, you can call a ride and go home. But I'm gonna need you to do that right away, otherwise Ted here has the option to press charges."

Merle straightened up and leaned back in his chair, giving her a lazy grin. "Ya mean Teddy's tired of hangin' out with me? I've givin' him good business over the years."

Merle spared a glance over Melissa's shoulder. "Ya hear that ol' buddy? I done probably paid fer yer house n' car ten-fold with how much I come in here. I say it's about time ol' Ted pay me back. Let me enjoy mahself fer awhile longer." He turned his attention back to Melissa, his words slurring. "C'mon, Sugar Tits, least ya can do after wakin' me up is have a nice fruity drink with me and we kin get ta know each other."

Merle gestured toward the chair next to him, patting the seat. Melissa could feel the aggravation rising within her and she had to force herself to breathe in slowly, but discretely, through her nose. She didn't want to man to see he was getting to her

"Mr. Dixon, I'm serious. You don't leave this bar, I'm gonna drag you back to the station and put your ass in a jail cell. Now, what's it gonna be?"

Merle breathed heavily, rubbing his face with his hand as if trying to clear his head. "Yer a feisty bitch, aintcha? What you say yer name was?"

"Officer Daniels."

Merle rubbed his face again. "Yer daddy Lee Daniels?"

Melissa blew her breath out heavy this time. She was beyond annoyed. "Doesn't matter who my father is. You gonna move your ass or do I have to drag you back to the station?"

Merle whistled, appraising her again. "Ya talk big fer such a little thing. Don't they put yer type on desk duty?"

That was enough for her. "Alright, that's it. Mr. Dixon you're under arrest for illegal trespass. You stand up, face the wall, and spread yer legs. I'll use three letter words so your backwoods-trailer-trash-ass can understand what I'm saying." Melissa could feel her temper flaring. She had a hard enough time keeping her mouth shut and right now it was running away with her.

Merle's eyes narrowed dangerously and he stood up abruptly, raising himself to his full height. She barely reached his nose. "Careful there, little girl. Yer jus' a wisp of a thing. I could whip yer ass inta next week if I wanted to."

Melissa's hand automatically went to her baton. She was no match for Merle physically, but she was quick and had a host of weapons at her disposal. "Mr. Dixon, you're drunk, you're not thinking. You need to back off. Now."

Ted took a step forward, holding his hands up. "Merle, cool off now, ya don't wanna do this…"

"Back off, Ted." Melissa hissed at him.

Merle ignored Ted and took a step closer so he was looking straight down on her. His breath reeked of liquor and beer. "Ya don't wanna mess with me, girl."

He went to walk past her and Melissa put a hand on his arm, attempting to pull him back in front of her. "Don't think so, Merle, you're gonna have to—"

She was cut off when Merle yanked his arm from her grasp and shoved her back forcefully. Melissa stumbled into the table and fell backward into a chair. She felt pain in her lower back but quickly scrambled to her feet. Merle was lumbering toward her and she got up, her baton in her hand. With one quick motion she rushed forward, and cracked the baton across his kneecaps. Merle stumbled, crying out in pain, and Melissa aimed for the back of his knees. Merle fell to the ground and she took a few more well-aimed shots to his legs. At this point, Ted seemed roused out of whatever daydream he was in and ran forward, planting himself on Merle's back so he couldn't get up. Melissa yelled into the microphone on the lapel of her uniform, "Daniels here, I need backup! I've got a perp up here at Jim's, he tried to come after me!"

The chief's voice came through loud on the radio. "Shit, Melissa, are you ok? Where's the suspect now?"

Melissa was practically panting into the microphone. "He's on the ground. It's Dixon, sir."

There was a noticeable pause before the chief spoke. "Dixon? Merle Dixon? Shit, did he hurt you? What you say, he's on the ground?"

"Yes, sir, he came at me and I took him out with my baton. Got a couple knee shots. He isn't getting up, sir, but I need someone here. He's drunk and pissed off as hell right now." Melissa's breathing had slowed and she watched as the man on the ground cursed at Ted and groaned in pain. She counted herself lucky that he was so drunk and off balance. If Merle had been more mentally alert she felt she could have been in real trouble.

"We'll get someone there in two minutes. Scene here is pretty cleaned up. Daniels, I want you to bring in Dixon. Book him for trespass and assault and do it right away. Soon as he's sober he's gonna wanna call his brother and I want it clear what he did to get locked up. Daryl's gonna shit a brick if we don't have a clear reason for why Merle's not gonna be home tonight." The chief paused. "And, Daniels…good work."

For the first time since her career as a cop started, Melissa felt a swell of pride in her work. "Thanks Chief. I'll book him right away. Daniels out."

88888888888888888888888

When Melissa returned to the station with Merle and got him booked and in his cell, Chief Nelson approached her. He perched himself on the edge of her desk and gazed down at her.

"Have to say…I'm impressed." Chief Nelson quirked an eyebrow at her. "Merle Dixon's a hard man to handle. I should know, I've arrested him myself a couple times. Not a lot of rookies could have done that."

Melissa had to bite her tongue. Four years on the police force did not constitute being a rookie. "Well, that's a good thing right? Do you think this means I can go on more calls…"

Chief Nelson held up his hands, as if to stop her from getting any ideas. "Now, I said you did a good job, I didn't say you were ready for more. You've done good, but let's not get hasty. You're not your dad. Baby steps, remember?"

She felt a surge of irritation at this. She had stepped up in the last twenty-four hours, dealt successfully with one of the most notorious resident assholes in Clayton, and the chief was _still_ adamant she wasn't ready for bigger things? She crossed her arms and glared at her boss. "All I'm saying is I think I'm ready for bigger calls. Traffic stops and check points, well, they're beneath me, sir."

Chief Nelson scoffed and looked her over. "Melissa, you don't seem to realize you could have gotten seriously hurt last night."

"Bill, he was fine, I'm fine, we're all fine." Melissa said, addressing the chief by his first name. She sighed with annoyance and looked down at the papers in front of her.

"Damnit, Melissa, I need you to take this seriously." Chief Nelson slammed his hand on her desk, making Melissa look up at him in alarm. "If I had known who that call was about I would have sent someone else to deal with it. You could have gotten hurt. Merle Dixon is a tough son of a bitch and if you hadn't had luck on your side—"

"Wasn't luck, Bill. I'm just good at my job. You would know that if you let me go out on more calls." She was still riding her high from earlier and with that came a feeling of boldness she didn't normally have with one of the men who used to serve under her father. Chief Nelson looked annoyed and stood up, motion her to follow him. She complied and followed him into the coffee break room, out of earshot of the other officers.

"Listen, I heard Ted had to help you last night. There's certain, I don't know, factors that go into what I can let you do. You know I have to ease you in slowly, Melissa. Your father would have wanted it this way, he wouldn't have wanted you to go off to face someone like Merle Dixon alone—"

"Don't give me the bullshit, Bill," Melissa cut in, rounding on the police chief. "Four years have passed and you're still easing me in? _Right_. Listen, you know and I know the real reasons y'all hired me and it wasn't for my skills with a gun. I'm not stupid, I've heard the good ol' boy talk around the water cooler. If I were a man, this would be a non-issue." She leaned close to Chief Nelson's face to continue her spiel.

"As for my father, I don't think you would know what the hell he would have wanted. You were a lazy slacker living in his mom's basement that didn't know his ass from his elbow until my dad came along and taught you everything you know. Next time you feel like justifying why I'm never allowed to do anything just admit you're a sexist asshole and leave my father out of it." She turned on her heel and marched out of the room, feeling her insides turning hot with anger. She knew she was going to get reprimanded and maybe even written up later for that move but at the moment she didn't care. Even after last night's successful arrest she still couldn't catch a break. Melissa walked back to her desk and started furiously writing out the report about Merle's arrest.

888888888888888888888888888888

It was 8:00 AM and almost the end of her shift. Melissa had just poured herself a cup of coffee when she heard shouts coming from the front lobby of the police station. She ran to the front of the station with the couple other officers that were about the go off duty and saw Chief Nelson nose to nose with another man. The man was spouting off a list of expletives into the chief's face and seemed oblivious he had drawn the attention of the entire police station.

"What the hell ya got mah brother in here for? Y'all dragged his drunk ass home plenty a times, no reason fer him ta be locked up again! Dumbass cops think y'all are gods." At that the man spit on the floor of the police station and Melissa crinkled her nose in disgust.

"Hold on, Daryl, ya need ta calm down. Yer brother came at one of my officers, so he's gettin' an assault charge. Ya know how he gets when he's juiced." Chief Nelson held a hand up as Daryl tried to interrupt again. "Ya know since he's on probation we need to transfer him to Augusta. He's gonna get some hard time fer this…"

"Ya sons of bitches had it out fer him. What he do, smack one of yer men around a bit? Y'all a bunch of pussies!" Daryl was in Chief Nelson's face again and Melissa could see the chief's face getting red with anger.

"Listen, Daryl, I get yer upset. But you come into my department and insult my officers I won't hesitate to throw yer ass into the cell next to yer brother's. Yer brother could be facin' a whole host of other charges if my officer hadn't taken him down. Why don't we go in the other room, and you and I can talk about what happened?"

Daryl crossed his arms in front of his chest, glowering at the chief. "I wanna talk to the son of a bitch that locked up mah brother."

Chief Nelson assessed Daryl, giving the man a hard look, but before he could respond Melissa stepped forward and interjected. "It's alright, Chief, I can handle it."

Chief Nelson glared in her direction, obviously displeased she had stepped forward, but Melissa squared her shoulders and stood firm. She was determined to show him she could handle the younger Dixon as well as she'd handled his brother.

Melissa strode forward, extending her hand as a courtesy. "Officer Melissa Daniels."

The man before her stared at her with piercing blue eyes underneath unkempt brown hair. Daryl was taller than her, as tall as his brother. She could see the similarities between the brothers in his rugged facial features and their striking blue eyes, save for the slight facial hair on Daryl's lip and chin. He was also looking at her like she had a third eye. He didn't take her outstretched hand.

"Daniels, that's not necessary—" Chief Nelson tried to interject but Melissa only shook her head.

"It's okay, Chief, I can handle this," Melissa insisted, trying to keep the annoyance out of her voice. She looked up at Daryl and gestured her head in the direction of one of the interrogation rooms. "You can follow me, Mr. Dixon."

Noticing her superior officer's growing scowl, Melissa stepped over to the chief and quickly said in a low voice, "If you wanna watch us through the two-way mirror you can do that." She knew she had to appease her boss somehow.

With a glare back at the chief, Daryl followed Melissa out of the room. When they got into the room she gestured to him to take a seat. "Can I get you anything, coffee, water—"

"Don't need nothin.'" Daryl sat himself in a chair and crossed his arms.

Melissa, took a seat and reached back to get the notepad she had tucked in her pants earlier. She got it out and started flipping to the page where she had taken notes on the previous night's events. "I see you got your brother's message from last night. Bitched and hollered at us until he got his phone call."

"We're in America, Merle's got rights along with everyone else." Daryl growled, his scowl unwavering.

Melissa reached the page with her notes and looked at Daryl. "Okay, so currently your brother is being charged with disorderly conduct, illegal trespass, resisting arrest, assaulting an officer—"

"Just tell me what happened." Daryl interrupted through clenched teeth.

Melissa felt her face flush and her hands noticeably tightened on the notepad. She was trying to stay professional but he was sure as hell making it hard.

"Mr. Dixon, I know Merle's your brother, but I can't give you specific details from the crime report. Not while the investigation is still ongoing."

If she thought Daryl's scowl couldn't have gotten worse, she was wrong. "That's crap and ya know it."

Melissa felt her own temper starting to rise. "It's not crap, Mr. Dixon. The charges are a matter of public record so I can tell you those, but when it comes to specific details of the report I can't release those until the investigation is closed. I'm telling you that—"

She was cut off when Daryl's hands slammed down on the table, making her jump in her seat. "Why dontcha cut the bullshit and tell me exactly what the hell mah brother did?"

Melissa stood up abruptly and put her hands on her hips. Between Merle, Chief Nelson, and Daryl, she had taken enough shit for today. "Fine, you wanna know? Your brother was three sheets to the wind last night and decided to pass out at Jim's. I asked him to leave, he refused and came at me, and I dropped his cornfed hillbilly ass to the ground. That what you want to hear?"

Melissa turned and made her way toward the door. As she started to open it she turned and caught his gaze. "I have other things I need to do now so I trust you can show yourself out. Your brother's going away a while, Mr. Dixon. You ask me, that's a blessing on the Clayton community."

Without waiting for his response, she turned and stalked out of the door, leaving it open behind her. Melissa didn't pause when she heard Chief Nelson yelling after her, not when she heard Daryl arguing with the chief, and not to observe the eyes of the other officers as they followed her across the office. Without looking back, she picked up her belongings and marched out the door of the police station to her cruiser. It was only when she was driving away from the station she could feel the hot tears behind her eyes start streaming down her cheeks.

888888888888888888888

Daryl stalked back to the meeting area. He was pissed off and wanted to hit something but that would probably have to wait until later. He didn't think it was a good idea to flip his shit in the police station. The meeting with the woman, Officer Daniels, kept replaying in his head and the more he thought about it, the more angry he became. She talked about him and Merle like they were trash, like they were beneath her.

"Fuck her," he thought to himself as he went through the door to the meeting room. Upon entering he scanned the line of chairs that were set up under a makeshift desk, partitions set up to create spaces for privacy. He saw who he was looking for and walked forward.

Daryl flopped himself down on a chair and picked up the phone receiver that was attached to the wall, his eyes meeting those of the man holding a similar phone receiver on the other side of the plexiglass window.

"Hey, little brother, what's goin' on?" Merle held his forehead in his hands, appearing to nurse a headache from his activities during the previous night.

"What the hell ya doin' goin' after a cop for? " Daryl asked, his own irritation apparent in his tone. "They're chargin' ya. Sayin' yer gonna go through Augusta and could be transferred ta Dodge State Prison. Damnit, Merle, yer ass gonna be all the way down in Chester or some shit!"

Merle cleared his throat and spit on the floor beside him. "Don't ya talk ta me like that, ya piece of shit. If that little bitch had left well enough alone I wouldn't be in this position, now, would I?"

Daryl didn't answer right away. He knew how Merle got when he drank, and if he was drunk when Officer Daniels had confronted him things could have been a lot worse. He was still angry as hell she hadn't let Merle go, though. "Listen, maybe your PO can get a good word in for ya…maybe they'll be lenient."

Merle smirked at his younger brother. "Well, look here, Daryl's all concerned 'bout his big brother." He sneered through the glass. "C'mon now, boy, if I didn't know any better I'd say ya were wearin' a skirt underneath that table 'stead of pants. Ya gonna wear mascara and lipstick next?"

Daryl scowled. "Shut up. Just thinkin'…"

"Well stop! I've gotten outta worse situations than this." Merle leaned back and gave Daryl a cocky half-smile. "I got somethin' brewin' but I'ma need yer help."

Daryl frowned and looked at his brother. The realization hit him then and he could only stare at Merle through the glass. "Ya mean…"

"That's right," Merle crowed. "They told me since I violated my probation I don't even get a bond hearing for the current charges. My PO's got it out fer me. Told me last time I saw him if I violated probation my ass would be down in Augusta faster n' corn through a goose. Well, seein' I got no hope in hell of gettin' outta here anytime soon the only thing ta do is…" He stopped talking, aware from years of experience that these "private" visits in a police station were always recorded. Instead he mouthed the last word and smiled self-assuredly. "_Escape_."


	4. Unexpected Company

**AN: Thanks to everyone that's read, reviewed, favorite-ed/followed this! I really appreciate it :)**

**So, someone sent me a PM about this but I am going to be slightly following the story line of the TV show along with some events from the comics (since they are too good not to include!). So, it'll be a mixture of both. Anyway, hope you all like it, I would really love feedback and to hear what you think since I'm still fairly new to this whole writing thing. And onto the story...**

By the time she got home, all Melissa wanted to do was curl up in bed and sleep for the next twenty-four hours. She pulled into the driveway and parked, still silently cursing at herself for not holding her tongue at work. On the way home she had received a call from Chief Nelson admonishing her for her behavior and putting her on desk duty for the next month. Melissa walked into the back door and set her keys on the kitchen counter. She walked quietly into the living room to find Ms. Warner asleep on the couch, her long white hair flowing out around her head. Melissa reached down and shook the older woman gently.

"Addy?" She gently shook the woman's shoulders, and Adelaide Warner stirred and stretched.

She opened her eyes and smiled up at Melissa. "Well, I was beginning to wonder when we were going to see you," Addy sat up slowly, stretching out her tight muscles while Melissa sat on the arm of the couch.

"Sorry Addy, long night. How did everything go last night?" Melissa rubbed her eyes, trying to keep them open.

Addy smiled and got to her feet. "It went fine, as usual. Nora and I did some cooking and baking. She actually did most of it; I just put my feet up and let her do the heavy lifting."

Melissa half-smiled, rubbing the back of her neck. It was stiff from being pushed down the night before and from all the stress of the morning. Out of the corner of her eye Melissa could see Addy studying her with a thoughtful expression.

"Are you ok, Melissa? Did something happen last night?" Addy asked with genuine concern.

"Hm? Oh yes, everything's fine, Addy. Just a long night of patrolling, as usual."

Addy nodded, lines of worry creasing her forehead. "Well, please know…if you need anything please let me know. If you need to talk or anything…"

Melissa gave her a tight smile and moved to change the subject. She shifted herself to sit on the couch and leaned forward, looking intently at Addy. "I wanted to just let you know that Nora called late last night while you were asleep. I'm going to talk to her, but I need you to be firm with her next time you're here that she needs to be asleep at certain time. And, she needs to do her therapy exercises."

Addy eyed Melissa warily. She had been expecting a lecture. "I know, Melissa. But it was such a relaxing night and she was so happy that she had cooked for the both of us. It's been so long since that surgery and she keeps telling me she feels fine. I just figured one night making some of her decisions wouldn't hurt…"

"I know you think that, but since I'm her guardian and it is my wish she continue with her therapy exercises. Is that clear?" Melissa interjected firmly.

Addy sighed in reluctant understanding. "Yes, Melissa, I can do that."

Melissa stood up and brushed herself off. "Well, let me get you money. I'm off tonight but I'll be on night shift all week next week. Are you still able to come in?"

Addy nodded.

Melissa removed some money from her purse and went to hand it to Addy. "Oh, and Nora will need a ride to work on Thursday morning. Is that ok?"

"Yes, that's fine. But you know, she has been asking to take the bus. I can show her how to look up bus schedules, she should be ok-"

"She's not ready for that, Addy." Melissa interjected sharply.

"Yes, I understand. Well, Melissa, get some sleep. Nora's probably still asleep if she was up late. Do you need me to make her breakfast?" Addy asked.

"No, that's fine. Thank you, Addy. See you Monday." Melissa walked Addy to the door and watched as the woman climbed into her old Buick. When the car was completely backed out of the driveway and driving up the road Melissa walked away from the door.

Melissa walked down the hallway and stopped in the bathroom to wash her face. She spared herself a glance in the mirror and grimaced when she saw her brown eyes were still slightly rimmed red from crying in the car earlier. She regretted her outburst in the station earlier that morning, but the sheer frustration at Chief Nelson and then her disastrous interview with Daryl had driven her to her limit. She wasn't happy that Addy had seen her like this, but she figured the woman might chock up the irritation to lack of sleep rather than tears. Melissa bent down, scrubbing her face vigorously until all signs of tears had been washed away.

Melissa walked down the hallway to her own room and checked the time. 9:00. She had just enough time to get a run in. Melissa quickly pulled on an old tank top and running shorts. She slipped on her running shoes and went out the back door. Melissa jogged to the woods behind her house and paused at the beginning of the trail she had run so many times throughout the years. After doing some quick stretches and exercises to get her heart rate up, Melissa took off into the woods at a quick pace. Her mother used to tell her that taking a nice long bubble bath would relax her; however, Melissa found traipsing through the woods, dodging tree roots and navigating the uneven terrain much more soothing. There had always been something about running that brought her back to her center and made her more focused. Her high school track coach had lauded her on her ability to hone in on what her body was telling her to do when she was running a race, and it was this skill that allowed her to navigate effortlessly around obstacles all the while quieting the whirlwind of thoughts swirling through her head.

After she ran her usual six mile loop Melissa went back inside, feeling much more at ease and put together. She hopped in the shower and washed quickly, leaving her brown hair down to dry. Throwing on a t-shirt and a pair of jeans, Melissa padded barefoot to Nora's room and opened the door softly.

She padded across the pink carpeting to the window and slowly opened the blinds to let the light stream in onto the pink walls, pink comforter, pink sheets, and the pink papasan chair. One didn't have to be blind to see Nora had a thing for the bright color.

Melissa walked quietly to the bed and noticed the picture on the nightstand near her sister's bed. She picked it up and smiled softly at the image of her and Nora. It had been Nora's 13th birthday, back when Melissa was still learning how to care for Nora and was talking with social workers on a daily basis and reading everything she could about Down Syndrome. Nora had insisted on having a slumber party with a few girls from her drama club and wanted Melissa to join them. When Melissa was in high school if someone had asked her to do something like that she would have told them sure, when hell froze over; but Nora had been so insistent that Melissa couldn't say no and ended up spending the night with pre-teens putting on makeup and talking about boys. She felt totally out of her element but Nora's happiness was evident in the picture she now held.

Smiling at the memory, she laid the picture back down and sat down on the edge of Nora's bed.

"Hey kiddo, time to wake up," Melissa said, shaking Nora's shoulder gently. In a gesture very similar to Merle's from the night before, Nora groaned and waved her hand in Melissa's face as if she were swatting away a fly only this time the gesture made Melissa smile.

"Don't want to," Nora moaned, hiding her face in the pillow.

Crawling into the bed next to Nora, Melissa laid her head on the pillow, mere inches from her younger sister's face. "Well, that's what happens when you are a terrible sleeper to begin with and you stay up until all hours of the night my dear. Come on, some of us have been out all night and are very, very hungry."

Slowly Nora opened one eye to look at Melissa, but she didn't move to leave the bed. "Can't you make something?"

Grinning at her sister's avoidance of getting up, Melissa reached a hand up and started playing with a strand of Nora's light blonde hair. "Come on, I heard you were a gourmet chef last night. Why don't you show me some of your mad skills?"

Nora groaned, closing her eyes and hiding her face. "Don't say mad skills. You're too old to say that."

Melissa started tickling Nora and in turn Nora started squirming, trying to wriggle out of Melissa's reach. "Missy, stop! Please, stop!'

"Well, that's what you get for calling me old. Now come on princess, you've had enough beauty sleep. It's ten a.m., time to start the day!"

Reluctantly Nora sat up, rubbing her eyes. Melissa had to stifle a laugh when she saw Nora's bed head, but chose to remain mum on the subject considering Nora's already sour mood. Nora's eyes wandered from where Missy stood to her nightstand. She shot her hand out and picked up the picture Melissa had handled earlier and examined it, her brow furrowed. She cast a glance in Melissa's direction.

"Missy, did you move my picture?" She asked, all grumpiness absent from her tone and replaced with a sense of urgency. Melissa sighed, realizing her mistake.

"Yes, I did. Did I not put it back in its correct place?"

Nora nodded emphatically, brow still furrowed with seriousness. "Yes, it goes here, like this. See?"

Melissa nodded, resigned. Nora required a certain amount of structure and her preoccupation with her room and her belongings had become more intense as of late. Melissa would often find that if she put an object back in a different place, it would be returned to its original spot very shortly. She decided to redirect Nora back to the original reason she woke her up.

"Come on, we can make a big brunch, and guess what? I don't have to work at all tonight. I'm yours the rest of the day. You're always saying you wish you could see me more—"

"But Marie's coming by today to work on vocabulary with me," Nora interrupted.

"Marie's coming over today?" Melissa asked, curious as to why her sister's tutor would choose to come by on a Saturday.

"Yes, I have a test on Tuesday and I want to do well." Nora rubbed her eyes, yawning.

"Oh," Melissa said, trying to hide her disappointment. "Well, why don't we make a big breakfast then and I can tell you all about how I arrested someone last night?"

At this, Nora's eyes widened. "You arrested someone? Were you scared?"

"Not scared at all. Matter of fact my boss said he was very impressed."

"Oh my gosh. Were you ok? Was it dangerous?" Nora asked worriedly and Melissa patted her sister's hand.

"I was fine, sweetie. Just some dumb guy that had too much to drink. He just needed to go to the jail to sleep it off." She downplayed the incident dramatically, not wanting to frighten Nora with what had actually gone down at Ted's.

"You're the bravest person I know Missy." Nora said with sincerity in her voice. She moved to get out of bed and followed Melissa into the kitchen, asking endless questions about Melissa's heroics from the night before and if she would get an award for being a good police officer. Melissa didn't have the heart to tell her otherwise.

_88888888888888888888888888_

The sound of her cell phone rustled Melissa out of a deep sleep. She groaned and reached for her phone to turn off the alarm. She had decided to lay down after dinner to take a quick nap so she could stay up with Nora and then get a regular night's sleep. The night shifts messed with her circadian rhythms but when she had a chance to spend an evening with Nora, she tried to take it.

When she became more oriented, Melissa realized that it wasn't her alarm going off, but her ringtone. Sparing a quick glance at the clock she saw it was 9:30 p.m., well past when she wanted to get up. Briefly wondering if Nora had gone to bed, she answered the phone.

"Hello?"

"Melissa? It's Bill. Sorry, did I wake you?"

Melissa tensed at the sound of the chief's voice. "No sir, it's fine. What's up?"

"There's two things. First...I'm sorry to have to do this over the phone but I'm trying to break the news to everyone tonight. Michaels is dead."

Melissa sat upright, all of her attention immediately drawn to the conversation at hand. "What? Michaels is…dead? I thought the guy just bit him or something?"

"We're not sure exactly. Evidently he got some kind of infection that got progressively worse through the day. They're thinkin' it was a fast-actin' strain of rabies or somethin'. His wife and daughter haven been informed and his body's bein' transported to the morgue." Chief Nelson was normally very matter of fact but his voice was filled with emotion. He had worked with Michaels a long time. "And Melissa, I'm sorry but I'm going to have to ask you to come in tonight. Without Michaels we're one short, and there's been a lot of fucked up shit going on today. Some guy bit a nurse in the hospital and she's been sick, and a husband started actin' crazy and going after his wife and kids. I don't know what's going on, but I need ya in here to man the desk."

Melissa could feel her pulse that was rapidly becoming more excited die down. "Desk duty? Really?" She muttered into the phone.

"Look Melissa, I'm not the one that made an ass of myself today. Ya need to deal with it and get in here. I'll see you in an hour." With that he hung up the phone.

Melissa leaned back, pinching the bridge of her nose between her fingers and closing her eyes. She was having trouble digesting the conversation. She couldn't believe Michaels was dead. He hadn't been the best cop but he didn't deserve to go out like this.

Sighing heavily, Melissa scrolled through her phone to find Addy's number. She hoped the woman would be willing to do her a very huge last minute favor.

_8888888888888888888888888_

Melissa yawned and sat at her desk in the police station. She had done her rounds of the cells and made sure everything was in order. Considering that Merle was their only jailed resident the rounds hadn't taken more than a few minutes. She turned up the volume on her police radio. The strange calls of the day had only kept going into the night. The nurse that had been bitten earlier in the day had gone crazy and attacked a doctor and some patients in the hospital. There had been an attack on a young man by his elderly mother. It was all very bizarre and nobody had any idea what was going on. The radio was constant chatter between the dispatcher and the officers on duty. Melissa wished like hell she was out on the street and not stuck on desk duty with the scum of Rabus County.

"Hey, sweetass, why dontcha come in here and let me listen ta the entertainment? Boring as hell in here…" Merle's voice called out from his cell down the hall, cutting into her thoughts. Melissa ignored him, concentrating on the radio chatter.

"Aw c'mon, ya ain't gonna make me sit here with mah thumb up mah ass fer entertainment, are ya? Better yet, I've been told I got a lovely singin' voice…" Merle continued.

Melissa grabbed up the radio and stalked up the hallway, setting a chair outside Merle's cell.

"Ok, you annoying bastard, here I am. Happy now? Now keep your fucking mouth shut." Melissa sat down and turned the radio on high.

"Well now, ain't you a peach. Ya kiss yer mama with that mouth?" Merle asked snidely.

"Pretty sure if my mom met you she'd be using much more colorful language in your general direction," Melissa retorted. Merle chuckled, leaning his back against the wall and crossing his arms.

"Sounds like you'n yer ma are my kinda women," he suggested slyly, eyeing Melissa up and down.

"Go to hell, Merle," she said.

Merle pushed himself off the wall and came to lean against the bars, peering down at Melissa. "Ya didn't answer my question last night, bout yer daddy."

Melissa visibly tensed and he watched her with interest.

"Lee Daniels, the old police chief, right?" Merle baited.

Melissa leaned back against the wall, keeping her gaze trained on the radio. "What's that got to do with anything?"

"Nothin.' Jus' know he was a pretty big deal around here 'til he died. Still is a bit. Know a lot of the guys 'round here thought mighty high of him."

Melissa's shoulders hunched slightly when Merle mentioned her father's death, and she scowled up at him. "And your point is…?"

Merle only shrugged. "Just thought it interestin' ya got into the profession that got yer daddy killed is all. Reckon the other officers leave ya behind here 'cause they don't want ya getting' hurt. Ya know, bein' a woman n' all…"

Melissa leaned back now, her scowl hardening. "I became a police officer to keep assholes like you off the street. World's a safer place without people like you out there. "

"Ya talkin' mighty tough. Ya don't even know me, sweetheart. I could be yer dream come true." He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively and Melissa snorted in disgust.

"Right, ok. Whatever Merle." She leaned back and concentrated on the radio.

"Listen, if you can keep yourself quiet, I'll let you listen in on what's going. I'm not really supposed to, but hell…I've screwed up enough this week why not add crossing boundaries with a felon to the list." She knew at this point the department couldn't afford to fire her or it would suffer ramifications from the state of Georgia. Merle nodded in agreement and Melissa sighed in relief.

She turned up the volume and sat back to listen to the events of the night. After a brief thought she looked up at Merle and quirked an eyebrow. "One thing though, Merle, you keep badgering me, I _will_ leave you in here alone to stick your thumb up your ass for entertainment."

Merle's only response was a sly smirk.

_88888888888888888888888888_

The sun was just starting to shine in through the jail windows and Melissa had just finished making calls the to the rest of the officers in the department. Melissa and Merle had sat and listened to the calls all night, commenting occasionally on the nature of the disturbances. The odd calls and disruptions only escalated further into the night and Chief Nelson needed more officers on duty. He was even staying on for an extra shift and this was as rare of an occurrence as snow during a Georgia summer. It seemed that all the incidents involved a Clayton resident going to the hospital for some kind of infection, although none of the officers called to the scenes had had to be admitted. A couple officers had suffered a few scratches but other than that everyone seemed fine.

Now that the calls were made Melissa sat down again, listening with Merle to the ongoing chatter between her fellow officers. Their time spent listening to the escalating disturbances had established an uneasy rapport between the two of them. She was nowhere close to trusting the man, but he had heeded her request to sit quietly and had seemed truly absorbed in what was going on. After a few minutes, Merle got up and started pacing in his cell.

"What's wrong with you, Merle?" Melissa asked, watching the man's agitated pacing out of the corner of her eye. Merle didn't answer, instead rubbing the back of his neck and continuing his restless trek back and forth across the cell.

"Merle!" Her voice echoed sharply in the corners of the sparse cell.

Merle paused and turned rigidly to face her. "Nothing's wrong sugar, jus' all this sittin' made me realize I haven't eaten since yesterday." Merle leaned against the wall, his hands in his pockets.

"So what? I haven't eaten since yesterday either. You don't see me dying of starvation, right?"

"I'm tellin' ya, I need ta eat. Think I'm feelin' faint…" Merle added matter-of-factly.

Melissa leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms, her eyebrows knitting together in an irritated frown. "Listen, _Mr. Dixon_, you and I might have tolerated each other for the last few hours, but that does _not_ make us equals or friends or whatever you might think. I am still an officer of the law and you are still an inmate and you will not make demands of me. You're a criminal, Merle! You eat when I say you eat."

Merle pushed himself off from the wall and came forward to lean against the door of the cell, looking down at Melissa menacingly through the bars. "Listen, darlin', I got rights like every other low-life scum ya got that comes through here. That means if I feel I've been mistreated and you was supposed to be takin' care of me…well, I got every right to sue yer ass and the rest of this goddamn department."

Melissa looked at him incredulously. She was so taken aback at the audacity of the man in front of her she had no idea what to say. "Fine. You know, I was beginning to think you weren't such a bastard, but again I have been proven wrong."

Melissa walked into the break room and opened the freezer, scanning for the worst frozen meal she could find. Settling on a frozen bag of brussel sprouts, she prepared them in the microwave and set them on a paper plate. Normally, inmates were served standard frozen meals from the cafeteria located in the police department building, but Melissa didn't feel like being generous. She walked back to Merle's cell, holding the plate in front of her. He had been pacing again but stopped at her approach.

"What, no fork?" He asked, eyeing the plate in disgust.

"You act like an ass, you can eat like one," Melissa spat back.

Melissa started to shove the plate between the bars but realized her mistake a half-second too late when all of a sudden Merle had grabbed her wrist, making her drop the plate, and spun her around so her back was to the bars and wrapped his arm around her neck in a chokehold. She started to struggle against his brute strength, knowing it was too much for her to break free from. She ceased struggling when she felt something metal pressing against her throat and realized quickly it was a fork. Most likely the fork he had used the night before, and someone in a hurry had probably forgotten to check that he had given it back. Melissa struggled to breathe as his arm dug into her windpipe.

"Now listen here, darlin'," Merle spoke softly through the bars. "I don't want ta hurt ya now but ya see I'm gettin' outta here. Yer not gonna say nothin', yer not gonna scream. Ima ease up a bit now but if ya scream I swear I'll choke ya ta death." His grip on her throat loosened only slightly and Melissa gulped in as much air as she could muster. She didn't scream.

"Now, I'm gonna need ya ta reach and get yer gun. That's right. Now, hand it up slowly or this fork goes in yer eye." Melissa complied, grabbing her gun from its holster and slowly handing it to him. The whole time her mind was telling her to struggle, to turn around and try to shoot him, but Nora's face flashed in her mind and she resisted the urge. She had to keep herself alive and listening to Merle seemed like the best idea at the moment. After Merle had a firm grip on the gun Melissa calmly attempted to talk to him.

"Merle, come on now. What are you doing? You know you won't get away with this. If you let me go now, we can keep this between us…"

"Don't think so." Merle murmured in her ear. "I let ya go, yer automatically gonna tell yer boss. Ya cops can't be trusted with anythin'. Also, don't think yer gonna be gettin' help any time soon seein' as how all yer fellow officers are out there and yer alone with me."

Melissa cursed under her breath, realizing that she was, indeed, very much alone. "Well, what are we gonna do then, Merle?" she asked.

"You'n me gonna take a little ride, sweetheart, but ya stay quiet fer now." He said. "First, get the key from yer cuffs out and throw it over there. Good. Now, cuff one of yer wrists and put it behind ya." Melissa silently did as she was told.

Merle kept his arm around her throat and reached down quickly with the hand holding the gun and cuffed her other wrist. She was now handcuffed with her back to the bars of the cell, with no way to escape. Merle fully removed his arm from her throat and she took a deep breath, wincing as she drew in air through her bruised wind pipe.

"Now, Ima take the keys and other weapons off yer belt. Nothin' more." Melissa tensed but Merle, almost gently, removed the keys, her baton, and her OC spray from where they were attached to the belt of her uniform. She could hear the jingling of keys as he worked to find the right one that fit the lock to the cell door. After a few minutes he had found the right one and was now standing in front of her with the gun still in his hand. Melissa had never felt so vulnerable in her life.

"Ok, now, here's what we gonna do. Yer gonna walk in front of me. We gonna go to yer squad car and yer gonna drive me to mah house. Don't try nothin' funny, otherwise I won't hestitate ta put a bullet in that pretty little head o' yers."

"But, Merle, you can just leave me here. I'm handcuffed, I can't come after you. What do you need me for?"

Merle grabbed the cuff keys from where Melissa had thrown them earlier, undid the handcuffs and quickly stepped out of the open cell door before she could think of shutting it on him. Melissa froze when she heard his reply.

"Yer my insurance policy. Yer the honorable former police chief's daughter. They ain't gonna want nothin' ta happen ta you. Only way that'll happen is if they listen ta me." He grabbed her by the arm and started heading to the front door of the police station. Melissa looked around desperately, willing for one of the other officers to walk into the building at that moment and help her out of the situation. Unfortunately, she didn't see anyone that could come to her aid. She had to face the unpleasant fact that she was now very much Merle Dixon's hostage.

**Thanks to Bitch Goddess and MollyMayhem84 for their input and help with this! Go check out their profiles since they are amazing :)**


	5. A Turn of Events

**AN: Thanks to everyone that is reading/following/reviewing :) I'm glad people seem to like this story, even though it does start in sort of a non-conventional way. So, we're headed into the few weeks before the quarry since I've always been curious about the transition between normal life and the fall of Atlanta. And don't worry, there's plenty of both Dixons in the coming chapter :)  
**

**Please if you have any thoughts or even just want to say hi I would love to hear more of people's thoughts, good or bad, I thrive on constructive criticism :)**

Melissa felt the barrel of the gun pressing into her back as she and Merle walked outside to the car. She couldn't believe she had gotten into this precarious position. She knew right now she should be scared that she was being taken hostage by a man who obviously had nothing to lose, but at the moment she was mentally chiding herself for her stupidity in allowing him to get a hold of her. She knew if her father had been present in the current situation, he would have scolded her for her lack of attention to her surroundings and said something about her constant ability to disappoint him. Then, he would have probably made her do one hundred pushups—after kicking Merle's ass, of course. A quick jerk on her arm brought her back to the current moment and she saw they were walking toward her squad car.

Melissa's eyes started darting around, searching for any signs of approaching officers, or anyone in general. All she would need to do is signal them that she was under duress and they would come get her out of this mess; however, as it was still fairly early on a Sunday morning, there was no one out and about. Merle seemed to sense her thoughts and pressed the gun harder into her skin.

"Don't do anythin' stupid, darlin.' Ya can't get outta this, so ya might as well accept that fact."

They got to her squad car and Merle opened the door for her. If he wasn't holding a gun, Melissa would have almost thought he was being chivalrous. She climbed into the driver's seat and Merle settled into the passenger seat. He slunk down so he was barely visible to through the windows. Melissa had to hand it to him, he was recognizable enough that if someone saw him sitting in the front seat of her car, there would definitely be questions.

"Now, ya gonna drive us out to mah house. Mah brother's waitin' there fer me. When ya drive, ya go the speed limit, all normal. No answerin' any of the calls on the radio. Like I said before, I don't wanna hurt ya. Jus' wanna get outta here," Merle said, keeping the gun pointed at her.

"Do you really expect to get away with this, Merle? I mean, first assault, now kidnapping? You really think they're not gonna be able to find you? You think the rest of the officers will just assume I took you out for a joy ride? You've practically bought yourself a twenty year prison sentence!" Melissa said, trying to get him to see reason.

"Girl, I've been in worse shit than this before and gotten out jus' fine. And I suspect that with whatever the hell is goin' on in this town, no cops are gonna be back in the station fer a long time. By the time they notice yer gone we'll have long since skedaddled. So, ya best get yerself comfy and accept the fact you n' me are gonna be together fer awhile. Now drive."

His tone made Melissa start the car obediently and turn out of the police station parking lot. They drove in silence for a short time before Merle spoke again.

"Well, this is cozy, ain't it? Never thought I'd get me a chauffeur as fine as you." He wiggled his eyebrows in Melissa's direction and she snorted in disgust.

"Not if you were the last man in this universe, Merle." She glared at him. "And if I have to ride in a car with you, the least you can do is keep your mouth shut."

"C'mon now, darlin', I'm startin' ta think ya don't like me much. Yer wound so tight, I'm surprised ya don't have a heart attack where ya sit. Good ol' knockin' of the boots might do ya good."

Melissa's hands tightened on the steering wheel. "Enough of the bullshit. Is this the master plan? You and your brother kidnap me and we all drive off into the sunset?" Merle was silent, so she continued. "You must be a great brother. Drag him into your shit and mess up his life too."

"Daryl's blood. He knows there's nothin' more important." Merle stated matter-of-factly, keeping the gun pointed squarely at her head. "Ya don't know nothin' 'bout it."

"Oh I don't? And why is that?" Melissa asked, keeping her eyes forward.

"Ya left yer family. Weren't no secret 'round town. Ya left right after yer daddy was killed in that drug deal." Merle's eyes glinted with something Melissa couldn't recognize.

Melissa's jaw noticeably tightened. "I told you not to speak about my father. And you know nothing about me, or my family."

Merle smirked. "Oh, I know plenty, darlin'. I know ya left when yer daddy was killed. That yer ma n' ya had a fallin' out over ya leavin'. And that yer ma paraded around that sister o' yours like she was a damn high price mare. Ya don't know the first thing 'bout family."

"Merle, if you want to keep playing therapist I am going to run this fucking car off the road with you and I in it." Melissa snapped, finally giving Merle the reaction he had been waiting for.

"Now, I was jus' makin' some polite conversation. When ya live in a small town, all ya do is hear all them nasty rumors, ya know that. Jus' thought we could get ta know each other on a personal level is all."

"Well, Merle, I don't want to know you, I don't want to know anything about you. As soon as you get to where you need to be you can—" Melissa was abruptly cut off when the radio in the car came to life and Chief Nelson's loud voice echoed through the car.

_"All units. Dispatcher patched a call through to me. There's a call in from Molly at Goldstar Coffee on Savannah Street. She said there's a customer that's going crazy, tearin' shit apart in the place. The behavior she described is the same type of behavior we've seen from the perpetrators at the other scenes. Might be that infection or some shit. I put in a call to Dahlonega but they've got some of the same problems down there, so they'll try to send reinforcements when they can. Since all of you are at other sites I'm on my way over, but if I need backup, I'm gonna need ya there ASAP."_

There was a chorus of responses from other officers as they acknowledged that they would try to be available as soon as possible. It seemed that whatever affliction had taken hold of the town it wasn't going down without a fight. Chief Nelson's voice sounded again over the radio.

"_Last, I have instituted a lockdown for Clayton residents until we get this shit under control. When y'all are done on your calls I'm gonna need y'all to take your usual patrol routes and alert residents to stay off the streets. I've alerted the television and radio stations about this and they are broadcasting this to residents, but I will need your help in spreading this news. You see anyone on the street, you direct them to go indoors. Nelson out."_

Melissa couldn't believe her ears. Molly had put in a call and the town was on lockdown? Things must have gotten really bad if the chief was willing to practically institute martial law on the town, and Melissa's heart started beating slightly faster at the idea of Molly being in some kind of danger. She saw where they were. They were within a few miles of Savannah Street. With a sideways glance towards Merle, she could see he was also staring at the radio. Everyone in town knew Molly since she had been working at the coffee shop for years. He seemed to know what she was thinking when he caught her looking at him. He shook his head. "We can't go back. Ya keep drivin."

Her eyes burning, Melissa turned forward again. She was trying to think of a way out of the situation, but more and more solutions that she came up with all came out with the same outcome: her or Merle dead. She would have definitely opted for the latter, but then it would be more than her job that was at stake. She didn't want anything to put her guardianship of Nora to chance. Nora needed her, and Melissa knew that no matter what she had to make it out of this situation alive and unscathed. She thought back to when she had said goodbye to Nora the night before. It had not been a happy exchange.

_"What do you mean you have to go back to work? You said you would be here all night! First you sleep through the whole afternoon, and then when I can finally spend time with you, you say you have to leave again!" Nora glared at her angrily. She never took it well when there was a major change in plans. _

_"Nora, I'm sorry ok? My boss says there's not enough people in tonight and if I don't go in they're going to be short-handed." Melissa tried to explain._

_"Fine, whatever. You would rather be at your job than spend time with me." Nora turned and started stalking angrily towards her room._

_"Come on, Nora, that's not fair. You know I don't have a choice in the matter—"_

_Nora spun and pointed at Melissa. "You always say that Missy! You say you don't want to leave and then you just do it anyway. You did it when I was little and you still do it now. Fine then, go and leave me." _

_"I'm sorry, Nora, I don't have time for this now. Mrs. Warner is coming in ten minutes. I forgot you have to go to work tomorrow so she'll take you in the morning." Melissa sat down and started tying her shoes vigorously, trying to not let her temper show. Her sister's teenage surliness was something that had manifested itself in the last couple of years and was only getting worse, and it drove her crazy._

_"You never have time. I told you last night, I don't _need_ a babysitter and I can take the bus to work. I don't need Mrs. Warner! You always treat me like a baby, you think I can't do anything!" Nora was screaming at her now and Melissa felt her patience wear thin. She stood up and Nora made to shove past her. Melissa caught her by the shoulder and stopped her from moving. _

_"No, you stop. Sit down. Now." Nora sat down but continued scowling at Melissa. "You don't get to say something like that to me and then walk away. Unfortunately I can't talk about this now. So, you can stay mad at me the rest of the night, but Mrs. Warner will be here soon and you will behave. We can talk about this in the morning." She had moved to hug Nora but Nora shifted her body away from Melissa, avoiding physical contact._

Melissa went over the conversation over and over in her head. '_One of the last things I told my sister was that I don't have time for her_,' she thought. She was beginning to wonder if Merle's opinion on her and the subject of family was correct.

She continued mulling things in her head when she all of a sudden she noticed a figure darting into the middle of the road. As Melissa slammed on the brakes she could feel the car start to skid A loud crash sounded as the figure slammed into the hood of the car and bounced across the pavement a few times. Merle was cursing beside her, trying to pry himself out from between the dashboard and the floor of the car where he had been hiding, all while Melissa sat stock still in her chair. She could feel all the blood drain from her face and her pulse was pounding in her ears. After a moment she had leapt out of the car, ignoring Merle's shouts and ran toward the figure in the street.

"Hey! Are you ok? Are you hurt?" She sprinted toward the figure and looked down on the body of a man lying facedown in the road. By the looks of it, the man's neck had to be broken. When there was no response, Melissa bent down to touch his neck, trying to find a pulse. Although she couldn't find one, she heard the unmistakable sound of the man breathing and she sighed in relief. He was alive, but she didn't want to move him for fear of worsening any injuries he might have sustained.

"Sir? I'm Officer Melissa Daniels. A car has just hit you. I'm going to radio for an ambulance. Do you know your name?" When there wasn't an answer, she straightened and started hurrying back towards the car. Merle was standing outside the car glaring daggers in her direction.

"What the hell ya think yer doin'? We gotta get goin'!" He yelled.

"Just a second, Merle, I have to call for an ambulance for this man. We can leave after I've done that, but I can't leave him in the street to die." Melissa picked up the receiver and started to radio for a help when she noticed Merle staring in the direction of the man. Turning, she almost dropped the receiver when she saw the man staggering towards them. The man that one minute earlier she had assessed as probably having a broken neck, due to his body lying at a perpendicular angle to his head. She wasn't sure what was going on, but at that point she could only chalk up the man's survival as a miracle.

"Hey, you! Sir, are you ok? You shouldn't be moving, I'm radioing for backup to come and give you medical attention." She said as she walked toward the man with her hands outstretched.

Without warning, the man stumbled quickly towards her, an almost feral look in his glazed over eyes. Before she knew what happened, he took her to the ground, gnashing his teeth in her face. Melissa started wrestling with the man, trying to push him off of her. He was larger and had her smaller frame pinned beneath him. She might have been strong, but he was definitely stronger, and he was trying to bring his face closer to hers. Grunting, she brought her knee up between the man's legs to what should have been his most sensitive areas—but to no avail. With another massive effort, she got her hands on his shoulders and pushed upward, her adrenaline kicking in and she managed to flip the man off to her side.

Melissa scrambled to her feet, and started to turn to deliver a swift kick to the man's gut when she heard the sound of a gunshot. The man had staggered to his feet, and Melissa saw the bullet from the gun Merle was holding enter his chest in what should have been a kill shot; however, death never came. The man angrily hissed and turned toward Merle, rushing towards him. Merle shot at the man again, the knee this time, and still the man didn't fall to the ground in pain. He was almost on Merle when one last shot rang out. Melissa covered her mouth, aghast at the sight of the man's blown out head. The man instantly dropped to the ground and Merle wiped at his brow, panting heavily.

Without a word, Merle pointed his gun at her. "Get in the car. Now."

Not stopping to argue, Melissa got in and began driving.

_8888888888888888888888888_

They had just pulled up to Merle's shack when Daryl came running out. He had seen the cop car coming up the drive and knew it had something to do with Merle. He had been getting supplies ready all morning in preparation for his brother's escape. The plan was to go to the police station and slip Merle out but a cop car showing up at his doorstep hours prior to their planned breakout only served to alarm the hell out of him. Daryl was running toward the car but stopped in his tracks when he saw who got out of the passenger's side door. Merle stepped out of the car looking grim. Daryl couldn't believe his eyes when he saw who opened the driver's side door. Melissa Daniels stepped out and looked around. She looked like she had seen a ghost.

"Merle, what the hell she doin' here? Don't tell me ya did what I think ya did—"

"Ain't got time fer that, Daryl, ask questions later. Tell me, truck all packed?"

Daryl nodded, but he was still teeming with questions. "Yeah, got all our bags and yer bike's strapped down in the back."

Merle nodded. "Good. There room back there fer another body?"

Daryl looked between Merle and Melissa, who still looked white as a sheet, and he knew then what his brother was planning to do. "Oh hell no, we are not takin' her with us! Ya gone crazy if ya think I'm gonna go along with it."

Merle struck faster than an angry rattlesnake in a bucket. He had grabbed Daryl by the collar and swung him hard so his back was against the cop car, his face two inches away from his brother's. "Ya ain't gonna pussy out on me now, are ya, boy? Ya ain't tellin' me yer gettin' yer panties in twist over some highfalutin educated coose, are ya? If ya question me again I'll kick yer ass so hard, you'll have ta shit out yer throat. She's comin' with us, end of story."

He let go of Daryl's collar roughly and Daryl shook himself off, straightening out his shirt. Melissa, who had surprisingly stayed quiet through this whole exchange, suddenly spoke up. "Where are you both going?"

Daryl turned and glared at her. He still remembered her snotty words from the day before and he was in no mood to play nice with the little bitch. "Ain't none of yer concern. If yer comin' with us, yer gonna do as _we _say. "

Melissa suddenly straightened and her eyes flashed. She looked Daryl in the eye, her tone getting harder. "I asked you, where are you going? As your hostage, I think I have a right to know."

Daryl and Merle exchanged a glance before Merle shrugged his shoulders. "We're goin' ta Dahlonega, girl. Got a cabin there, good place ta hide out."

"Damnit, Merle, why dontcha tell her 'bout the stash ya got hidden in ya underwear drawer too while ya at it?" Daryl threw his hands up in the air in exasperation. If his brother was going to be a dumbass, he might as well not go halfway. Melissa's cough interrupted his irritated thoughts.

"Merle, you saw what was on that highway, right?" She asked.

Merle nodded, his face looking grim. Daryl looked between the two of them in confusion.

Melissa continued. "You know that…that behavior, infection, or whatever it is…it's what the other officers say they are seeing all over town. You and I listened to the calls all night on the radio."

When Merle didn't speak, she continued, "Whatever this is, it's spreading, and fast. It's all over town and it's making people act crazy." Melissa was shaking now and Daryl couldn't believe his eyes. In only the five minutes he had known the woman he hadn't pegged her for spooking easily.

"I…I can't leave my sister here. Not like this. It's not safe here." Melissa eyes had widened and Daryl was even more surprised. She looked young and vulnerable, and her eyes were pleading. "Please, I'll let you take me, but we can't leave my sister here. We just can't. I'm begging you. Don't make me leave my sister."

Daryl was about to retort that they weren't a damn bus when he caught Merle's eye. The older man had set his mouth in a hard line, his brow furrowed in Melissa's direction. Daryl thought Merle was about to tell her to go to hell, but what he said next surprised both Daryl and Melissa. "Ok, darlin'. Let's go get 'er then."


	6. Ponder and Regret

**AN: From now on, I think I'm going to put the author's notes at the bottom of the text. But, I really want to thank those who have reviewed and favorited and/or followed this so far. Happy people like it, and please keep leaving reviews, they really help with motivation and keep the juices flowing :)  
**

**Thanks so much, and here you go!**

_September, ten years ago:_

_Melissa set her bags down by the front door and turned back to the two figures that were looking at her unhappily from the bottom of the stairs. Her mother was scowling._

_"I don't understand why you need to leave at a time like this. We need you here to take care of things." Virginia Daniels declared. She tossed her newly highlighted hair over her shoulder and drummed her freshly manicured nails on the cabinet in the hallway._

_"I told you, Mom, I have to leave. School starts in a few weeks." Melissa shifted the straps of her backpack so it rested on both shoulders instead of one._

_"So, what, you get to live the life in New York and I'm stuck here by myself? Virginia demanded. "Miss Jones said she could train you to work at the salon. You could even just go to North Georgia Tech's Clarksville campus. It's close."_

_Melissa shook her head, sighing heavily. "Mom, we've talked about this. I'm going to college. It's a miracle they even let me enroll at Kingsborough this late in the game. The plan has always been community college for a year, then NYU. You guys will be fine."_

_Virginia shook her head vigorously. "No, Melissa, we will not be fine. I need your help here. Lenore's starting school soon and if you worked with me in the salon we would be able to pay the bills-"_

_"Mom, with dad's life insurance, you'll be getting a check from the state of Georgia once a month from here on out. You have Miss Warner to help with Nora. You don't need me to pay the bills; and as for the salon, you know that girly shit is yours and Nora's thing. You tried with me, remember? As I recall you said, and I quote, that I had 'issues with my femininity.'" Melissa opened the front door and started walking toward her car to put the bags in._

_"Well, that's not the issue anyway. The issue is you're running away from your responsibilities." Her mother glared at her, furrowing her freshly waxed brows into a thin line. It was an extremely unattractive facial expression and Melissa knew if her mother saw herself in a mirror she would correct it immediately._

_"Mom, please just calm down. You're going to give yourself a pimple." She felt her mother grab her shoulder and spin her around._

_"You don't talk to me like that. I don't know why you're being so selfish." Virginia's tone was accusatory, as if Melissa was carrying out the greatest sin in the world. Melissa gazed into the eyes of the woman that had given birth to her eighteen years before and saw the panic and hurt there. Melissa felt a twinge of guilt. She and her mom hadn't been close for a long time. The woman just didn't understand her. Melissa had always been into climbing trees and playing sports. Her mother was a makeup and boys kind of woman, and had been quick to vocalize her disapproval whenever Melissa came home with dirty knees or when her husband would teach Melissa how to handle a gun or a knife. Her mother had quickly started devoting herself to Nora when she found Nora had the same "girly" interests as herself._

_Melissa knew she couldn't stay here—not with the memories of her father filling every room in the house and the constant nightmares she endured remembering their last conversation. She didn't want to part with her mother on bad terms, however, so she chose her next words carefully._

_"Mom, I know you're scared, but you will be all right. There are people here to help if you need it, and I promise I'll come back and visit during holidays. It'll be like I'm not even gone." She was lying through her teeth, but she just wanted to ease her mother's fears._

_Moisture gathered in Virginia's eyes, but she blinked them back. "Fine then. Doesn't look like anything I say is going to change your mind so…yeah. I guess this is it." _

_Virginia put a hand on her daughter's shoulder and squeezed it. It was the most affection she ever showed Melissa these days. She started to head toward the house and turned to look at Melissa. "I'll send Lenore out."_

_Melissa turned around and continued putting her bags in her car, only turning when she heard the running steps of her sister coming down the front walk. _

_"Missy!" Nora yelled, running at full speed, her frilly pink dress billowing out around her. She rushed into Melissa's waiting arms. Melissa hugged her sister close, breathing in the scent of the special luxury shampoo her mother always bought Nora. _

_"Hey there, sweetie," she said. "You come to help me pack up?" She stood up and motioned at the remaining suitcases._

_Nora backed up, putting her hands on her hips. "No, I came to help you bring stuff in the house. I do not want you to go."_

_Melissa sighed, kneeling down so she was the same height as Nora. "Honey, I have to go to college. Besides, you'll be so busy with school, you won't even notice I'm gone."_

_Nora shook her head vigorously. "No, no I will miss you! Who is going to read me stories and help me with my homework? First grade is hard! And, and you always know how to make the best Eeyore voice, and you sing the Spongebob song the best, even better than mom!" She was talking fast now, so fast that Melissa was starting to have a hard time understanding her. When Nora got worked up sometimes her speech became muddled and she always had to be reminded gently to slow down._

_Melissa put her hands on Nora's shoulders, looking her directly in the eyes. "Slow down, Nora, slow down. Honey, I really can't stay."_

_"Is it…is it because of Daddy?" Nora asked, her innocent eyes looking at Melissa intently. _

_Melissa froze slightly, taken aback at Nora's innocent question. Melissa knew that Nora understood Melissa's sadness at their father's death, but for her to somehow connect his death to why Melissa was leaving was something she never expected. Melissa composed herself, and squeezed Nora's shoulders. She did what she always did when she wanted to shield Nora from the truth. Melissa lied._

_"No, sweetie, it's not because of Daddy. I know it's hard for you to understand, but I just need to go. You and mom will be fine." She hugged the little girl to her, the guilt flooding through her. Of all the goodbyes, this was the hardest. She pulled back from her sister, and saw the tears starting to well up in her sister's eyes._

_"Please, Missy. Please, don't go." Nora pleaded, Melissa's chest hurt. _

_"I don't want to, sweetie, but I have to." She straightened and put the rest of the bags in the car. Turning, Melissa hugged the Nora one last time. When she stepped back, Melissa saw Nora's eyes were filled with tears. _

_"Oh Nora, don't cry. I'm always a phone call away," Melissa said, her own eyes burning._

_Nora put her hand to Melissa's cheek, gazing sadly into Melissa's eyes. "We'll be sisters forever, right?"_

_"Yes Nora," Melissa said, "And even longer." _

_She kissed Nora on the cheek and got into the car. Virginia came out of the house to stand by Nora. With a final wave out the window Melissa backed down the driveway and started driving away from her childhood home. Looking in the rearview mirror, she saw the two figures standing in the driveway watching her leave. Melissa turned her gaze back to the front windshield, telling herself over and over she wasn't really leaving anything really important behind. She hoped if she repeated it often enough, eventually it would be the truth._

8888888888888888888888888

The wind had blown Melissa's hair free of its tight bun. She worked desperately to control the curls that were now flying in all directions as she sat huddled in the bed of Daryl's gray Ford truck, against Merle's Bonneville Triumph. Merle had fussed over the motorcycle, berating Daryl on his "pussy-ass pack job" and made a show of securing the wheels to the bed of the truck. He had put the weapons that were in the trunk of her patrol car in a bag and slid it under the seat in the cab of the truck.

"No room in the cab for you, girl," he said, "But ya can sit in the truck bed. Plenty of room next to the bike."

"Damnit, Merle, she can't sit back there. Can't trust her ta not run off the second we stop." Daryl argued as Melissa hoisted a bag Merle had given her in the back of the truck. Merle had gone back in the house looking for a few more supplies.

"I hardly think that you have the right to be talking about the issue of trust," Melissa remarked, pointing at the gun Daryl had been training on her since Merle had given it to him. She was tired of the dirty looks Daryl had been giving her all morning. "Here I am, a hostage, helping a couple of redneck drug dealers pack their shit and trusting them to not to put a bullet in my back. I'd say the trust issue is more mine to worry about, don't you?"

"Ya keep talkin,' I'm gonna kick yer ass," Daryl retorted. "No damn cop is gonna come to mah house an' insult me or mah brother."

"Is it really an insult if I'm speaking the truth?" Melissa asked, keeping her back to Daryl. She didn't know exactly why she was deliberately egging him on, but chalked it up to him losing his temper with her in the police station. If he hadn't been such a hothead she wouldn't have lost her own temper, and she wouldn't have been placed on desk duty to watch over Merle Dixon. And then she wouldn't be in this mess of a situation at the moment.

"I can just kick yer ass now. Can't talk anymore if yer unconscious." Daryl shot back, stalking over so he was right behind Melissa. When she turned he was right up in her face, looking down on her menacingly.

Melissa didn't blink or back down; she merely regarded him with disinterest. She spoke, keeping her tone neutral and even. "Fine."

She stepped back and started unbuttoning the blue uniform shirt she was wearing, and Daryl's eyes widened. "What the hell ya doin', woman? Keep yer clothes on!"

Melissa's eyes flashed. "No, you said you wanted to kick my ass. The least I can do is not let my uniform get dirty."

She had reached the bottom button. Daryl's eyes were bugging out of his head but his expression went back to his characteristic scowl when he saw she was wearing a black camisole tank top underneath the uniform. She started to remove the outer shirt when Merle's whistle cut through the air.

"Hoowee, ya got further than I ever did, Darylina. What ya say ta get her ta strip? Give her the ole' 'my momma's dead n' my daddy was a drunk' sob story?" Merle was leaning against the doorway of the house, a large Cheshire cat-like grin spread across his rugged features.

Daryl turned, glaring at his brother. "Shut up Merle. It's not like that."

Melissa set the shirt of the uniform on the ground and turned to Daryl, "So, are you ready to do this? Because I have to warn you, my dad was an expert when it came to grappling with thugs, and he taught me well."

With a growl Daryl threw his hands in the air. "Not gonna be any fight. Jus' get the shit in the truck an' keep yer mouth shut."

As he walked away to sulk on the porch steps Melissa heard him muttering under his breath, "Fuckin' crazy woman."

Melissa smirked, turning around and loading the last bag into the truck. Before she climbed into the back of the truck, she turned back to face Daryl, who was watching her with an incredibly pissed off expression.

"Next time you say you're gonna kick my ass, have the balls to back it up" she said, grabbing her shirt from the ground and hopping spryly into the back of the truck to take a seat behind the cab.

Now there they were, driving on the highway back to Clayton to pick up Nora at the hotel. Melissa was counting down every minute and every mile until they got there. After what she had seen on the highway, all she could think of was getting her sister and getting out of Clayton. When the man had come rushing at her, the man with the seemingly broken neck, she had thought she was seeing things. Maybe she had been mistaken about his injuries and he was going to be all right. Then when he had started attacking her and she had seen the feral look in his eyes, she thought he was sick with rabies, or whatever infection the other police officers had been dealing with and discussing all night on the radio. What they hadn't mentioned, though, was the smell.

Melissa had been backup on a few jobs that dealt with removing a resident from their home after they had passed away. The police were either notified by a passerby or relative that noticed the person was missing, or more commonly, noticed a strong, pungent odor coming from the resident's house. It was a smell that Melissa would never forget, and it was the smell that radiated off the man as he had attacked her. The smell of sulfur, sweat, and rotting meat. _Death_. It permeated her senses and even now she could feel it lingering in her nostrils and on her skin.

When Merle had delivered a perfect kill shot to the man's chest and the man hadn't even blinked, Melissa's heart had almost stopped. She had never been a person of faith or believed in the supernatural, but what she had seen was something she couldn't explain and this terrified the hell out of her.

She was a person of logic. When she was in law school at NYU, she learned all about the justice system. The rules were black and white, the lines clearly defined. If she went by logic, Merle was guilty of murdering an unarmed man, even if the man was attacking them. But what had happened on that highway completely blended the black and white into grey and blurred all lines for her. She wanted to believe the man was sick, or that he had been high on some type of drug. She didn't want to believe that a man reeking of death had attacked the both of them, surviving a broken neck and a shot to the heart in the process. She didn't know what the hell was exactly going on in Clayton, but the one thing she was sure of was that what was happening was dangerous. Perhaps more dangerous than anything any of the officers in the department had faced before.

Her thoughts had turned to Nora the rest of the trip to Merle and Daryl's house. Nora was at work, completely defenseless. She didn't have anyone there to protect her. And Melissa had realized she was desperate enough to ask the Dixon brothers, her captors, to take her back to town to get Nora.

Her last conversation with Nora kept running through Melissa's head and she put her head in her hands, the guilt building. Her sister's belief that Melissa didn't want to be around her couldn't be further from the truth. The long hours came with the job, and she had to make a living for her and her sister somehow. Melissa couldn't blame Nora for feeling that way, not after the way she had left for college and barely communicated with Nora or her mother for six long years. It was only when her mother died and Melissa had taken over as Nora's guardian that their relationship had been able to mend, to a certain degree. Nora still harbored a bit of resentment to her for leaving, and was never afraid to remind Melissa about it. No matter what Melissa did, it felt like she screwed up everything when it came to taking care of Nora.

Melissa put the heels of her hands to her eyes and breathed in slowly, trying to calm the storm whirling around in her brain. She had been awake for far too long and had too much time to think. To hell with this pity party, what she needed to do was focus. Come hell or high water, she was going to fix this. She was going to find her sister and she was going to get her out of here. Save for her little confrontation with Daryl, Melissa had tried to be cooperative with the Dixon brothers so they wouldn't suspect anything of her.

Being as discrete as possible, Melissa reached down and ran her hand over the side of her thigh. When she had ordered her uniform for the police station they hadn't had her size, so she had to settle for a uniform two sizes too big and hadn't bothered to order a new one. The pants were fairly baggy and she was grateful for that. They concealed the fact there was a massive weapon now hidden on her person. A weapon she had managed to conceal from Merle. Melissa felt the shape of the trench knife and settled back against the cab of the truck. When the opportune moment came, she was going to make her move.

8888888888888888888888888

Daryl had been unpleasantly surprised when Merle had pulled up with the police officer, and he personally thought Merle had lost his mind when he said they were taking her with them. If Merle had just left her locked in the cell or something he would have probably gotten away scot-free. But no, Merle, as he always did when his pride took a hit, had to go and pull some stupid shit to reinforce his status as a man. This time he had taken the only woman on the police force as a hostage. Daryl furrowed his brow in frustration, still pissed as hell his brother had put him in this position.

Daryl looked at Melissa in the rearview mirror as they drove down the highway. She had shifted her weight so she was sitting with her back toward the bike so he could see her profile. She had finally gotten her curls under control and her hair was now pulled back in the tight bun he remembered from the first time he had seen her. She now looked to be lost in thought so he felt he could observe her unhindered. The bun only served to accentuate her sculpted cheekbones and strong jawline. From the angle he was sitting he could see her nose was narrow but slightly crooked, as if it had been broken and healed that way.

She had huddled her lean frame so she was hugging her knees to her chest, almost as if she was cold but Daryl knew it was probably the only relaxed position she could muster. The woman had legs for days and couldn't properly cross her legs to fit comfortably in the cramped truck bed. She hadn't put the uniform shirt back on, opting to just wear the black camisole top, and Daryl swore in the twenty minutes since they had left the house her already tan skin had darkened another shade under the oppressive sun beating down on the truck.

"Hope she burns to a crisp," Daryl muttered quietly.

"What's that?" Merle asked, turning from gazing out the window to look at Daryl.

"The bitch back there." Daryl said, swinging his head in Melissa's direction. "Got a mouth on her. Just thinkin' it'd be nice if she got a nasty sunburn or somethin'. Ya know, bring her down a peg or two."

"Aw, yer just mad she called yer bluff about kickin' her ass." Merle said, leaning back in the seat and lighting a cigarette. He opened the window a crack and flicked the ash into the wind.

He continued. "Yer right though, she is a bit of an uppity bitch. Thinks she's all clever and shit. Hell, I even bet she's a Democrat. It's not a surprise though, considering who her daddy was."

"What ya mean? Who's her dad?" Daryl asked, glancing at Merle out of the corner of his eye.

Merle took another long drag of the cigarette. He blew the smoke out, watching it curl until it eventually faded away. He threw out the cigarette and rolled the window up the rest of the way, not wanting the wind to carry his voice. His voice was low when he spoke. "Her daddy was Lee Daniels."

Daryl's knuckles tightened on the steering wheel. With Melissa in the truck bed, he had to force himself to speak quietly. "Ya mean ta tell me the daughter of the dead police chief is in the back of our truck right now? The police chief who…"

Merle's look silenced him. Daryl felt his blood grow hot and he hit the steering wheel, fuming. He had to fight to keep his voice low.

"God damnit Merle, ya done did it now. We can't go back inta Clayton, all them cops's gunna be lookin' fer us. Ya know how important she is ta them? If her daddy was Lee Daniels they're gonna be searchin' the area with a fine-tooth comb, and ya tell me we gotta get her sister?"

Merle Dixon lit another cigarette and took a long, slow drag, flicking the match out the open window.

"Well, Darylina, when ya stop moanin' like a bitch in heat I reckon ya kin take yer head outta yer ass n' start usin' it instead. All them disturbances were takin' up the honorable Clayton PD's time. Way I see it, it's gonna be a while before they know she's gone, and when they do they're gonna wanna keep us happy." Merle gestured toward Melissa over his shoulder with his thumb.

"She's our insurance policy. They won't fuck with us if we got one of their own. It's called leverage, little brother."

"Yeah but what about 'er sister?" Daryl hissed. "Ain't nothin' she's good fer. We can just turn around an' leave now."

"Can't do that Daryl." Merle replied. "Her sister is all that girl's got left. Can't just separate 'em."

Daryl had to register what Merle said. "Ya tellin' me we're gettin' this bitch's sister out of pity? What the hell, Merle?"

"Shut yer mouth boy." Merle's voice was dangerously low. "It's her kin. Ya think if we jus' leave she's gonna go quietly? Look, we get her sister, she'll come quietly. I don't need ya up my ass 'bout this. Ya ain't seen what I did."

Daryl looked at Merle out of the corner of his eye. "What happened on that highway?"

Merle took another drag on his cigarette and blew the smoke out in untidy rings. "When we was comin' back, a man come up outta the woods and attacked like the Vietcong in 'Nam. Man was crazy, hissin' and growlin' an' shit. He attacked her than came at me. I shot a round in his chest an' his knee, but he just kept comin'."

Daryl shrugged nonchalantly. "So what? Musta been jacked up on that Vanilla Sky shit."

Merle shook his head. "Weren't that. I seen guys on that shit. This guy, I looked him in the eye an shot him in the heart…but he didn't die. Finally got him down with a headshot. I don't know what the hell's goin' on, but it ain't drugs. Cops think it's an infection, but it's all over town. That's why she's so freaked out."

"Well, what the hell we gonna _do_ with' them? We can't take them all the way to Dahlonega."

Merle ruffled through the duffel bag at his feet. "Don't get yer panties in a twist! Ya keep on like ya are I'ma beat yer ass into next week. It'll be fine."

Daryl turned to his brother with a raised eyebrow. Merle continued rummaging through the bag.

"We'll take 'em to Dahlonega, figure it out from there. If the cops up here are still busy dealin' with all this shit, we can dump the women down there. That satisfy ya?"

"Guess it's gonna have to." Daryl muttered, unhappy with the outcome of the conversation.

Merle, meanwhile, had found the baggie he was looking for. He opened the bottle and poured a small amount of the crystal in his hand. He leaned his head down and quickly snorted the contents off his hand, groaning as the drugs immediately took effect.

Daryl knew no matter what he said now, there was no arguing with Merle. They were going to be headed to Dahlonega with a kidnapped cop and her sister as their hostages. They were totally fucked.

Merle Dixon muttered. "Don't worry little brother. Ole Merle's got this whole thing planned out."

Daryl turned and stared straight ahead, his hands tightening on the steering wheel. Yep. They were totally, unequivocally, one-hundred percent, royally fucked.


	7. Lost and Found

**AN: Ok, so I lied about putting my note at the end of next chapter. I just wanted to address one thing so far...I know the Daryl I am depicting seems like the biggest ass in the world, but I do want to ease worries and let you all know that he will, eventually, be the Daryl we know and love. However, he really is unlikable in most of the first season and even into part of season two, so I'm not going to let him become a big old fuzzy bear just yet. Not that I think Daryl would even remotely resemble a fuzzy bear...**

**But anyway, thank you so much for the reviews, favorites, follows, etc. I really appreciate it and it helps to let me know that people are actually reading (and enjoying!) this story. If you drop in, please do say hello. I enjoy it :) Anyway, 1) I don't own anything Walking Dead except my OCs, and 2) onto the story...**

When they arrived at the hotel, the streets of Clayton were quiet due to the lockdown. Daryl pulled the truck to the curb and cut the engine and Melissa hopped out of the back of the truck. She walked to Merle's side of the car. He leaned out the window, throwing his now-finished cigarette on the sidewalk.

"Daryl's gonna go in with ya." Merle said, nodding his head in the direction of the door.

Melissa scowled, indignant at this development. "No, it'll be better if I go in by myself. It'll raise suspicions if he follows me in there, especially because half the town has probably heard of your arrest by now."

Merle shook his head. "Listen here sweet ass, don't push yer luck cuz I'm doin' ya a favor just bringin' ya here. Yer smart enough ya can get yer sister without anyone suspectin' anythin'. Daryl's goin' with ya an' that's the end of it." He pulled himself back into the car and rolled up the window, signaling it was indeed the end of the discussion.

Melissa blew her breath out through clenched teeth, not happy at the direction things had turned. She knew she could handle getting herself and Nora away from the Dixon brothers if they stayed in the car, but with one of them breathing down her neck the entire time escaping was going to be a hell of a lot harder than she originally thought.

Remembering she was going into her sister's workplace, Melissa reached into the truck bed and pulled out her uniform shirt. She started buttoning it up and caught Daryl watching her out of the corner of her eye.

"What?" She asked, annoyed at the audience. "You never saw a person put on clothes before?"

"Nah, just wonderin' why ya botherin' to suit up at all." He shrugged his shoulders. "Not like ya gonna need it soon. Yer jus' goin' in to get the kid."

Melissa finished tucking in her shirt and straightened the collar of her uniform. She made sure her bun was in good order in the car's side mirror, and she turned to face Daryl. "I'm a professional. Unlike some people, I take pride in my work."

Melissa did one last check in the side mirror and looked up to see Merle scowling. He rolled the window down a crack and hissed out the window. "Ya need lipstick too? Get yer ass in there!"

Melissa rolled her eyes and turned to head into the building, Daryl hot on her heels. Before she opened the doors, she heard Daryl speak softly next to her. "Remember, girl, nothin' funny."

Melissa walked in through the old wooden doors, ignoring the "Sorry, Temporarily Closed" sign and scanned the lobby for Clarence Patterson. He was the owner that manned the desk every weekend.

There was no one at the desk and all Melissa saw as she walked in were boxes and sheets covering the lobby furniture. She walked to the counter and tried to peek down the hallway behind the desk into the back office, but the office door was firmly shut with a sign reading "Employees Only" in capital letters.

"Hello? Clarence?" She called. No one answered. Melissa frowned, unsure of what to do. She turned to Daryl, who was leaning against the doorway watching her.

"There's no one here." She gestured around her. "Normally, Clarence is here but it doesn't look like he's around." She went and tried the door to get behind the desk but found it was locked. She sighed in frustration.

"What, ya can't just look for her?" Daryl asked, gesturing toward the hallway that led to the guest rooms.

"No, I can't just look for her," Melissa answered, the irritation evident in her voice. "Clarence owns the other two buildings on each side of this one, and he rents them for office space and storage. Sometimes Nora works here or he has her over in one of the other ones cleaning or organizing or something. It'd be easier to ask him directly where she is instead of searching three buildings with five floors each. Or…" Melissa drifted off, an idea coming to her then.

Melissa put her hands on the counter and hoisted herself up and over to the other side. She started to go through the drawers when she felt a strong grip on her arm. She looked up into a set of piercing blue eyes that were filled with irritation.

"What ya think yer doin'? Told ya not to do anythin' funny!" Daryl hissed, trying to physically pull her back over the counter.

"Clarence always keeps a written documented schedule of what work he is having Nora do. It's a part of his deal with the nonprofit agency that placed her here. If he doesn't have documentation of work she's done, he doesn't get the funds from the state to pay her," Melissa said, yanking her arm from his grasp. "If I find the schedule it'll tell us where he has her today."

Daryl backed off from her, letting her continue her search. He watched her search for a few more minutes before the curiosity got the best of him. "Ain't there any guests here?"

Melissa didn't look up at him as she continued rifling through the cabinets. "No, not right now. Clarence has been renovating guest rooms and is a stickler for appearances. Thinks all the random construction equipment will turn guests off. He's probably right."

Daryl huffed, "Sounds like a waste of money, if ya ask me."

Melissa ignored his sarcastic comment and pulled open a drawer to a large grey file cabinet. After a few minutes she pulled out a large green binder and found the tab with Nora's name written on it. She read the schedule and slipped the binder back into its drawer.

"She's here. He has her organizing files for him." Melissa looked up at Daryl, a small smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. "Clarence knows her too well. Between her reading skills and obsession with organizing things, I think he's training her to be his future filing clerk."

"Great. I don't need to know about that shit. Just get her so we can go." Daryl growled, the irritation evident in his voice.

Melissa's smile faded and she turned around to walk into the back hallway. "I'll get Nora, she'll just be back here in the office," she called over her shoulder.

Melissa knocked lightly on the door. "Nora? Hon, it's Melissa. Can I come in?"

When there was no answer, Melissa knocked on the door again. "Nora? Are you in there?"

Again, there was no answer. Thinking her sister was probably still mad at her, Melissa gently turned on the handled, an apology on the tip of her lips. "Nora, look I know you're mad but-"

She shut up and stared in horror at the two figures on the floor in front of her. Clarence lay on the ground, his hands outstretched and curled inward, as if he had been clawing at something. His grey hair was matted down with blood and his lifeless eyes stared at the ceiling with an expression of sheer terror. His horn-rimmed glasses lay nearby, smashed to pieces in the growing puddle of blood flowing from the massive hole that had been torn into his midsection. His entrails spilled forth from his ravaged body, and Melissa's eyes followed them to the other figure in the room. A hunched over figure knelt in the center of the room, a curtain of hair masking its face from view.

Melissa's horrified gasp drew the attention of the figure and it looked up slowly, its eyes fixating on her with the same lust and savagery that the man on the highway had. She could only watched as it dropped the innards it had been eating, bloody bits still smeared across its cheeks and hanging from its mouth, and hissed in her direction. It had the same shape and general features of a person, but they were grotesquely distorted and discolored. Melissa took a step back when she recognized the face framed by the long flowing white hair now matted in blood.

"Addy?" Melissa whispered.

Addy only answered with another extended hiss, rising to her feet slowly, almost like a baby deer finding its legs. She started hobbling slowly across the office, her torn pink sweater hanging in shreds off her tiny frame.

Melissa took a step back, then another, mirroring Addy's steps toward her. It felt as if her legs were made of lead and everything seemed to be moving in slow motion. Addy's skin was ashen gray, her eyes glazed over and sunken in. She reached her arms out towards Melissa, as if asking for help.

"Addy…Oh God…Addy, are you ok? Clarence…he…." Melissa was not making any sense and she knew it, but right now her brain was having a hard time processing what was going on in the room. She wanted to reach out to Addy, to the woman that had been taking care of Nora since she was little. But, all she could do was stare at the pieces of flesh hanging from Addy's mouth and Clarence's gutted body lying on the floor. Addy's hands reached her shoulders and the woman grabbed Melissa violently, bringing her mouth towards Melissa's neck and—

Melissa's sympathetic nervous system sprung into action. She didn't have any thoughts, she just went with her body's gut reaction. She brought her right fist back and slammed it into Addy's chin, feeling her knuckles split after connecting with hard bone. She didn't stop there, and instead brought her right fist up to connect with Addy's left cheek. The older woman stumbled back, but only a few feet. Melissa took the opportunity to scoot back a few steps.

"Come on, Addy, stop, please. I don't want to hit you again." It appeared her words fell on deaf ears because Addy suddenly rushed toward her. Melissa instinctually bent at the waist and rushed forward herself, slamming her shoulder into Addy's chest and knocking the older woman to the ground. Melissa scrambled to her feet, turning around to run out of the room.

"Daryl!" She screamed as she flew down the hallway to the front desk. As she came to the front, she saw Daryl had already hopped the desk after hearing the commotion in the back hallway.

"She's crazy, she killed Clarence!" Melissa screamed as she made her way to the front. She could hear the hideous growls behind her and she turned to see Addy running full speed down the hallway toward the both of them.

Without stopping to ask questions Daryl put Melissa behind him, raised his gun and shot Addy in the gut. It was a shot that would put any normal person down. Addy stumbled but continued ambling forward.

Melissa acted purely on instinct. She reached down and unsheathed the trench knife she had kept hidden in her pants. She slid her fingers into the brass knuckles and rushed forward, bringing the knife back and slashing it sideways. The tip of the blade connected with Addy's neck, just above her collarbone. Melissa jumped back taking the knife with her, a spray of blood spewing from the wound, but still Addy kept coming. With a cry of frustration, Melissa prepared to jump her again when the sound of a gunshot rang out and Addy dropped to the ground, the fresh gunshot wound in the middle of her forehead oozing blood. Melissa dropped the knife and sank back against wall, panting heavily from the physical exertion. Her heart was thudding in her ears as she looked toward Daryl, the gun in his hand slowly lowering, his eyes fixated on the figure on the floor. His eyes flicked toward hers and she saw a mixture of shock and disbelief in his gaze.

Melissa let her gaze reluctantly travel down to the body in front of her. Addy's eyes remained open, devoid of life. She reached down and gently brushed the gray hair out of the woman's face and accidentally touched a strand of flesh still stuck to the woman's cheek. Melissa was then transported back to the image of Clarence's mangled body that had greeted her in the office only minutes before and she felt a wave of nausea overtake her. She doubled over, feeling the muscles of her stomach contract and its contents make its way back up her throat. She turned her body so she vomited in the corner, away from Addy. When she was done she straightened and turned to see Daryl digging in his pocket.

"Ya all right?" He asked hesitantly, taking a step towards Melissa. He produced a rag from his pocket, gray with dirt from God knows what. He held it out in her direction and Melissa absently took it, wiping her mouth. She went to put it in her pocket and Daryl cleared his throat, clearly uncomfortable.

"Ya got some blood on yer face." Melissa appeared confused, automatically bringing her hand to her cheek. Blood on her face? From what? It took a moment to remember that when she had stabbed Addy blood had sprayed in all directions, including all over her face.

Daryl handed her a bottle of water he found behind the desk. Melissa wet the rag and while she wiped down her face Daryl stalked past her, glancing into the employee office.

"Goddamn," he muttered and she couldn't have agreed more with the sentiment.

"What the hell happened here?" Daryl asked, going back to join her behind the desk. "That like what ya seen on the highway?"

Melissa nodded, still staring absently at the body in the hallway. "Yeah. Same thing happened. Guy with the infection attacked us. Merle did a perfect kill shot and the guy just kept coming. Finally took a shot to the head to take the guy down, just like Addy here…"

Melissa trailed off. Daryl turned, a questioning look on his face. Melissa suddenly felt ill all over again.

"Oh my God, Nora…" she whispered.

There was a moment of silence and then Melissa took off running. She hopped the counter as if it were a mere bump and started running for the stairs that would lead to the second floor.

"Nora!" She screamed, the panic evident in her voice. Melissa was halfway up the stairs before she felt an arm wrap around her waist and yank her back, a rough calloused hand clamping over her mouth.

"Shut the hell up!" Daryl hissed in her ear, dragging her back down the stairs and into the lobby. "We don't know if there are any more of those things in here."

Melissa visibly relaxed and Daryl removed let go of her. "There shouldn't be. I told you, Clarence was renovating things so there are no guests here, and since it's Sunday there wouldn't be any construction workers."

Daryl's pointed look made fear well up inside her and she shook her head furiously. "Don't even suggest to me Nora is one of those things. She's fine."

"Well, what ya suggest we do then? Can't go searchin' every room in these buildings."

Melissa reluctantly agreed. Daryl was right, they certainly didn't have the time to search every floor of every building without drawing suspicion as to why they were there.

"Well, I know that Clarence is…was…in the process of moving his stuff to an office on the top floor of the building next door. He might have some files up there. He said he always wanted an office with a view." Melissa spoke quietly, trying to remember the man as she had known him and not as the pile of flesh and guts she had seen in his office.

Daryl nodded and they quickly exited the building. They ran into the building next door and Melissa was about to start up the stairs when Daryl tapped her shoulder. She turned and he held out the trench knife she had dropped in the other building.

"Thought ya might need this. Seemed ta come in handy back there." He spoke quietly, not wanting to alert anything to their presence.

Melissa took it, giving Daryl a nod of thanks. She hoped he wouldn't think to ask of where she had gotten it. She didn't need the redneck to know she had been hiding a weapon from them, not when she had given him a hard time about "trust" before. Turning, Melissa headed up the stairs.

When they reached the fifth floor she looked back to Daryl who held his finger to his lips than to his ear, indicating silence and to listen. Carefully, Melissa held her ear to the door. She could hear faint movement behind the door but there was no telling what was in there, not until the door was open. She turned to Daryl and gestured with her hand, silently communicating she was going in. She slowly turned the doorknob, taking in a sharp breath and wrapping her hands tightly around the brass knuckles of the knife. Daryl counted on his fingers to three, and Melissa burst into the room, knife held high, her weight on the balls of her feet with her elbows tucked into her body protectively. Melissa immediately let the knife fall to her side when she saw what she could only describe as a beautiful vision in front of her.

"Nora!" Melissa shrieked, running across the room and practically tackling her sister to the floor.

"Ouch, Missy, what are you doing? Look, you made me drop my files!" Nora was trying to push her sister off but Melissa had an iron grip around the younger girl's waist.

"Are you ok? Did anything get at you? How long have you been up here?" Melissa was shooting rapid-fire questions and Nora had to hold up her hand.

"Missy, this time _you_ have to slow down. I'm fine. What's wrong? Why are you at my work?" Nora had adopted an almost motherly tone, and Melissa had to take a deep breath to calm her racing pulse. She sighed in relief and clasped her sister to her chest in a tight hug.

"Missy, I can't breathe. What is going _on_?" Nora said with a hint of irritation and Melissa reluctantly let her go.

"We were looking for you, sweetie. How long have you been up here?"

"For a few hours. Mr. Patterson told me that since the streets were locked down I should just stay up here until it was lifted. Why was there a lockdown, Missy? Mr. Patterson said it sounded bad." Nora said.

Melissa eyed her sister, wondering how much she truly knew about what was going on. "What did Mr. Patterson tell you?"

"Not a lot, he said that he was listening to his police scanner and it sounded like a lot of people are getting sick and being sent to the hospital. He said Ms. Warner and I shouldn't be out on the streets since she was already feeling sick." Nora bent down to pick up the files she had been carrying before Melissa nearly barreled her over.

Melissa was confused now, trying to piece together what had happened at the hotel. "What do you mean, Ms. Warner was sick?"

Nora shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know. After you left last night she said she thought she had the flu. And Mr. Patterson said she looked really pale and had a fever so he said she could sleep in the employee bedroom behind the desk until the lockdown was over."

Melissa couldn't think of anything to say to this. This was news she had not expected to hear and now the police part of her brain was trying to rationalize how Addy had gone from having flu-like symptoms to…whatever the hell she was now? Melissa was pondering this information when Nora looked over her shoulder.

"Who's that?" She asked, pointing at Daryl. He hadn't moved from the doorway and the expression on his face was unreadable. Melissa half-smiled in his direction.

"That's Mr. Dixon, sweetie. He and his brother are giving us a ride. Nora…we're going on a vacation." Melissa said, fully aware she was lying through her teeth.

Nora's brown eyes widened in shock, but then crinkled as a smile spread across her face and she clapped her hands in delight.

"A vacation? Where?" She squealed. They never went on vacations anywhere.

"Yes, a vacation. Mr. Dixon and his brother are taking us to Dahlonega. We're going to go camping." Melissa said, trying to muster fake enthusiasm.

At the mention of camping, Nora's face fell. "Camping? Missy, I _hate_ camping. There's bugs and dirt and…just ew!" Nora's nose crinkled in disgust and Melissa's patience wavered slightly.

"Come on, you've never even been camping. Don't worry, we'll be staying in a cabin, with _air conditioning_…aren't we Mr. Dixon?" Melissa looked to Daryl and but he didn't respond. He was looking hard at Nora and Melissa had to clear her throat to get his attention. He met Melissa's gaze for a long time, longer than she liked, but then gave an almost imperceptible nod.

Melissa continued with the lie she was spinning, knowing she was playing on her sister's tendency to trust people too quickly and she had to fight from feeling guilty. She was trying to get them to safety. "But we are going to go out of town. I've already talked to Mr. Patterson and he said it was ok if you leave early today. So, we're going to go right now, ok?"

Nora paused, looking hesitant and Melissa felt her desperation growing. "C'mon, you're always saying we don't get to do things together. This is our chance to take a girl's trip."

Daryl's voice piped up behind her, "Yeah, my brother 'n me are gonna get ya a ride. Got a nice place all set up fer ya."

Nora didn't say anything, but then a smile broke out on her face and she nodded enthusiastically. Melissa breathed out in relief. Nora put the files down in a neat pile, taking painstakingly long to make sure they were aligned perfectly edge to edge, and grabbed Melissa's hand, smiling up at her. Again, the guilt started creeping in but Melissa fought to keep it down. Putting her knife back in its sheath and then pulling Nora behind her, she went down the stairs with Daryl following closely behind.

They had just reached the ground floor and started heading outside when Melissa's heart dropped.

Chief Nelson's police cruiser was parked behind Daryl's truck, and he had Merle out with his hands up on the hood, his legs spread. Chief Nelson was frisking him for weapons.

"Damn," Melissa whispered, "Damn damn damn damn damn." Daryl looked over her shoulder at the scene in front of them and swore under his breath.

"They're telling everyone to get off the streets for the lockdown. He must have seen Merle in the car and went to tell him to get inside. He's not supposed to be out of his cell." Melissa whispered to Daryl.

"What is it, Missy?" Nora asked and Melissa could only shake her head, pressing her finger to her lips. Melissa was trying to come up with a plan when she heard a click behind her.

"Sorry girl, gotta do this my way," Daryl whispered in her ear, pressing the barrel of the gun hard into her back. Nora looked back, seeing the gun and squeaked in terror. Melissa held onto her hand and squeezed it with reassurance although her heart was pounding wildly.

"Hands up, nothin' funny," Daryl said. Melissa had a fleeting thought of grabbing her knife but knew she would never be able to get to it in time, not with Nora there.

Daryl, almost gently, nudged Melissa out the front door and Nora followed, clutching Melissa's hand tightly. "Ya gonna let my brother go now asshole?"

Chief Nelson whirled around from where he had been handcuffing Merle and his eyes widened in confusion when he saw Daryl with a gun trained on Melissa and Nora.

Daryl continued, undeterred. "Ya let my brother go, or the girls here get ta take a bullet," he said, pressing the gun harder into Melissa to prove his point.

"Ok, ok, hang on. I'll get him out, just leave them alone," the chief stuttered, his hands fumbling with the keys to the handcuffs. He had just finished unlocking them when Merle spun, his fist in the air. He didn't have much space to get a good swing in, but the man was strong and despite the constricted space was able to land a blow to the chief's cheek. Chief Nelson's head spun and he stumbled back. Merle continued on the offensive, stepping forward and delivering an upper cut to the chief's jaw and Chief Nelson stumbled back and fell to the ground, blood dripping from a cut to his lip. Merle's boot met the chief's gut and the man doubled over on the ground in a fetal position. Merle kicked him again, and would have continued if Melissa hadn't let go of Nora's hand and rammed her body into his.

"Get away from him," she yelled, "You're killing him!" Melissa had pushed Merle back a few feet and positioned herself in front of the chief. She drew her knife out and took a forward fighting stance. Merle's eyes widened slightly when she saw what she was holding but he rushed forward like a bull toward a matador. Melissa knew she was no match for Merle hand to hand but she stepped back slightly, slicing the knife through the air and Merle let out a grunt, clutching at his arm where she had sliced his skin in a shallow cut. His eyes bulged and with a howl of anger he dove for her legs, both of them tumbling to the ground in a tangle of limbs.

Melissa ended up under Merle, his heavy weight pressed down on her chest. His fist came down and when it connected with her face Melissa tasted the bitter taste of copper. He was dropping another punch but Melissa reached up with both hands to grab his arm and pull him forcefully down toward her so they were practically nose to nose. Merle tried to twist his arm away from her grasp, and with a force she didn't know she had Melissa pushed his full upper body back and brought her legs up to wrap them around his neck from behind, her feet hooking around his front. Using all the strength in her legs she pressed back on his chest, forcing his whole upper body to lie back on the ground. Merle swore in pain and finally rolled off of her, rubbing at his neck and trying to scramble to his feet.

Melissa rose first and picked up her knife that had dropped nearby. She took fast strides towards Merle, who was still on his knees, and raised her arm to bring down the knife in a kill strike. Before she could bring it down Melissa felt a hard crack to the back of her head and she crumpled to the ground. The last sounds she heard before everything went dark were Nora's screams and the distinctive sound of a gunshot.

**Also, thank you to MollyMayhem84 and BitchGoddess. You guys rock!**


	8. An Unlikely Connection

**AN: Ah! I'm sorry it has taken me awhile to get this up, school has literally been eating my life. Trying to find time to write is very challenging but when people let me know what they think of this it makes me want to write more :)**

**Anyway, thank you so much for new reviews, follows, faves, view counts, all of it :) I will try to update more quickly now that i have gotten into the swing of things, and now, onto the story! **

Daryl drove down the dirt road, the dust kicking up behind the truck. Merle sat in the passenger seat, fast asleep. He had come down from the meth high he had been on earlier, taking Xanax to counteract the effects. After a half hour of paranoid ramblings his snores were filling the cab of the truck. Daryl glanced in the rearview mirror and saw Nora sitting with her back against the motorcycle in a position eerily similar to her sister. His eyes slid to the unconscious form of Melissa who lay on the other side of the truck bed. Her head was up by the cab of the truck so he could only see her torso and legs, but she hadn't moved for a long time so he knew she was still unconscious.

Daryl's gaze travelled back to the front of the car and he busied himself with lighting a cigarette, steering the truck with his knee.

After Melissa had completely forgone sanity and intervened in Merle's attack on the chief, he had had an incessant need to feel the nicotine dulling his senses. Merle had been so hyped up on Crystal his rage had known no bounds when the chief had started to arrest him. Daryl hadn't meant to club Melissa so hard with the gun but if he hadn't intervened when he did, she could have very well been dead at this moment. That and he was pretty pissed off she had managed to sneak a knife (as weird-looking as it was) past him and Merle. Because of that, he felt a little more justified in knocking her out.

After firing the gun to distract Merle from going after the chief again, he had managed to get his brother settled in the truck and convince Nora she should come with them.

Daryl saw the sign informing drivers they were five miles from Dahlonega. He nudged Merle with his elbow. When the older man didn't stir Daryl jabbed him sharply in the ribs.

"What the hell, boy, I'll kick yer lily white ass…" Merle sputtered as he struggled to wake up.

"We're comin' up on Dahlonega," Daryl murmured, taking a drag on the cigarette.

Merle rubbed his face and yawned. "How long I been out?"

"'Bout an hour. Ya took 'nuff Xanax ta knock out a small cow." Daryl blew smoke out the window and threw the cigarette butt out.

"What ya suppose we do when we get there?" Merle asked.

Daryl glanced at Merle out of the corner of his eye. "Thought ya had a whole plan worked out."

Merle sucked in air through his teeth, clucking his tongue in the process. "Reckon we can see how keen the Clayton PD are on findin' us. Ya locked the chief up tight, right?

Daryl nodded. "He's cuffed in the back of his car. 'Less he figures out how ta break outta the back of a cop car anytime soon I'd say he's stuck there for awhile."

"The girls give ya trouble?" Merle asked, plucking a cigarette from a pack in the glove compartment and lighting it for himself.

Daryl shook his head. "Nah. Younger one didn't wanna come at first, but wouldn't let me leave her behind without her sister. Older one hasn't woken up yet. I didn't know the younger one was…different."

Merle glanced in the back at the two figures. "Well, guess she is then."

"Ya think it's gonna be more difficult with her along?" Daryl asked the question that had been on his mind for a good part of the drive.

Merle scratched the back of his head, watching Nora as she herself gazed out at the countryside, seemingly lost in thought. A small smile played on the girl's lips and he was surprised she didn't look terrified.

"Dunno. Never dealt with somethin' like that before. All's I've ever seen a' her is when her ma would bring her to Jack's when I was workin' ta get her car tuned up. She was always askin' questions 'bout this n' that, tryin' ta get her ma ta bring 'er ta some movie or buy clothes or some shit. Her ma seemed to dote on 'er somethin' awful."

Daryl shook his head in disgust. "Great. Now we got a fuckin' princess ta take care of."

Merle furrowed his brow, shaking his head. "Wasn't always like that. Her ma _always_ made her practice manners or somethin'. Remember Jack tellin' me one time the girl's ma gave her money ta give ta him to pay fer an oil change. Girl turned ta leave n' her ma made her turn around an' apologize fer not sayin' thank you fer fixin' up the car. He said it happened more than once. Dunno how easy it was fer that girl before her sister got her."

Daryl found himself feeling sorry for Nora. If anyone knew a thing about overbearing parents, it was him and Merle.

Merle shrugged. "Princess or not, good ol' Officer Daniels wasn't goin' nowhere without her. Hafta see how it all plays out. If she's too much trouble we'll hafta do what's best fer us."

Daryl nodded, understanding what Merle was saying without directly being told. If Nora proved to be too much of a liability, they would leave her behind—with or without Melissa.

Daryl drove off the exit for Dahlonega and made a right. He drove the twenty minutes outside town, down back roads that turned into dirt until he could see the small wooden hunting shack his family had built years prior. It wasn't anything special but it provided a roof over their heads. They had come down every year since he was six to hunt deer and bear. While other hunters in the area hunted for sport, Daryl and his family hunted to put food on their table. They would often come back with enough meat for most of the winter and it was those times Daryl remembered actually somewhat getting along with his father. The uneasy peace wouldn't last long, however, and his father would eventually return to being a drunken bastard who only knew how to communicate with his fists, or worse.

When Daryl pulled up to the shack and parked the car, Merle hopped out and yelled to him over his shoulder.

"I'ma take a piss. Back in a sec!"

Daryl got out and opened the back to the pickup truck. He removed the bags and equipment from the truck and quickly brought everything into the house, setting them down in a hasty mess by the front door. He would organize them later.

After the equipment was removed he went back to the truck bed and hopped in to stand at Melissa's feet. Nora sat cross-legged in the corner, staring up at him with what he thought looked like curiosity, but he had to be mistaken. The girl had to be terrified.

"Ain't gonna hurt either of ya girl." He assured Nora. He didn't want to spook the girl and the way she was looking at him was unnerving, as if she wasn't even scared of him at all.

Daryl pulled Melissa carefully by the ankles to the edge of the truck. Sliding his arms under her, he braced himself to lift but was surprised at how light she was. He turned and walked up the hill to the shack.

"Where are you taking her?" He heard a light, airy voice ask with slight alarm behind him. Turning, he saw Nora standing on the edge of the truck bed watching him with wide eyes. Daryl hesitated before answering. How were you supposed to talk to someone with a disability? He had no idea and didn't want to scare her. He had no idea how she would react to anything he said. Daryl decided to keep it calm for the time being.

"Jus' takin' her inside. 'Less ya want me ta leave her in the truck bed. Y'all can sleep out here if ya want." He moved to put Melissa back in the truck but Nora quickly sat down and slid off the back, her feet hitting the ground awkwardly.

"Oh, no, we want to sleep inside. I don't like the outdoors very much." She started following Daryl as he made his way up the shack.

"Is she going to be alright?" Nora asked, stopping every few feet to look at a different plant or tree she had never seen before.

"She'll be fine. Jus' needs ta sleep it off. Got hit pretty hard," Daryl said. He shifted Melissa's weight, but he knew that wasn't what was making him uncomfortable. The girl was following him like a damn puppy dog, and in any other situation, he would have told the person following him to go fuck themselves. Circumstances being what they were, he was struggling to know the right way to respond to her.

"Well, you're the one that hit her so…it's kind of your fault." Nora stated, examining a bush filled with different flowers.

"Well, if she didn't try ta be a superhero she wouldn't have needed ta get hit," Daryl retorted, wondering how he ended up in an argument with this teenager.

"Well, your brother shouldn't have been being a jerk to Mr. Nelson," Nora shot back, having picked a few flowers and continuing to follow him to the shack.

Daryl was nonplussed. Here he was, struggling to keep himself in check and not frighten the girl and she had the nerve to give him lip? Daryl decided it was time to quit pussyfooting around his discomfort of the situation.

"Ya keep sassin' me, girl, ya gonna sleep out here on the ground," Daryl growled. At this she fell silent and Daryl bemoaned the fact that Nora was more like her sister than he initially thought.

It wasn't long before Nora's voice broke the air again. "Do you live here?" She asked.

Daryl shrugged. "Just a huntin' cabin. We only come here a couple times a year."

"Why do you only come here a couple times a year?"

"Better game here. Plus it's a change of scenery," Daryl answered shortly, wishing she had something else to occupy her attention.

"Why is there better game here?" She asked, the curiosity evident in her voice.

Daryl was beginning to get annoyed with the endless barrage of questions. He turned, about to tell Nora to shut her trap when he noticed she wasn't right behind him. His eyes scanned the area and he saw that she had started walking up the hill to the side of the shack, but now she was standing stock still. He had a mind to tell her that if she ran off, Melissa would get punished for it but he then noticed what she was looking at. In the distance, not more than fifty yards away, was a doe eating some grass. It was a simple scene, so simple a passerby would not have thought anything of it.

Nora, however, stood enraptured at the sight and turned to look back at Daryl with a big smile on her face. Daryl was taken aback by the wonder and excitement he saw there—she was a picture of innocence. He couldn't understand why someone would get so excited over a damn deer, and he didn't like the idea that she so callously started to wander away into the woods. If Merle had seen her do that he didn't know what the man would have done.

Clearing his throat, he called up to Nora, "Ya get down here now, girl."

The noise startled the doe and she quickly turned around and bounded further into the woods. Nora started walking back down toward the shack, the disappointment evident in her face. Daryl made sure she had made it to the front porch and went into the only bedroom, laying Melissa down on the bed. He could see her hair on the back of her head was slightly matted with blood from where she had been hit, and he felt slightly guilty for his actions from earlier.

Shrugging off the feeling, he took out zip ties from the dresser and tied her wrists and ankles together, in case she woke up and got any ideas. He made sure they were tight enough but not too tight they cut off her circulation.

Satisfied that he had done as much as he could, Daryl exited the bedroom to see Nora standing in the entrance to the shack, looking around the small building. He felt a sudden bout of self-consciousness, wondering what judgment the girl was passing on the run-down shelter.

"Ya just gonna stand there or ya gonna come in?" He asked gruffly. When Daryl spoke to her she brought her focus back to him and crossed her arms across her chest, furrowing her brow.

"Why did you scare that deer away?" She asked, the anger in her tone apparent.

Daryl was startled and eyed her warily. "What ya talkin' about? It was just a damn deer." He argued, raising his hands in self-defense.

"Yeah, but I've never seen one that close." Nora continued, and Daryl could only shake his head. She was beginning to give him a headache.

"Shouldn't be wanderin' off on yer own," he said, grabbing up his crossbow and slinging it over his shoulder. He turned to see Nora standing a few feet from him, looking up at him with defiance in her eyes.

"I'm fine by myself, Missy says the same thing. I can do things on my own!" She stamped her foot on the last sentence and Daryl took a few steps back, desperate to get out of there. He quickly grabbed up some arrows from one of the bags he had brought in and turned back to Nora.

"Whatever. Listen, I'ma head out fer awhile. Merle'll be back soon. If ya know what's good fer ya, you'll just sit here n' wait fer ya sister to wake up. Could care less at this point if either of ya escape."

He didn't wait for her to respond and stalked out the door, pissed off that instead of just having one uppity bitch to care for, he now had two.

88888888888888888888888

Daryl strolled back to the shack, his cross bow over his back. He had gone out for hunting for a few hours and was now returning with string of squirrels and rabbit hanging over his shoulder. He had needed the time to get away and be by himself. It didn't matter if Merle was his only living kin, the older man could grate on his nerves like nails on a chalkboard. That, and he had no idea how to handle Nora. It took all he had to not blow up at her, but he didn't want to do that. He couldn't yell at someone that was mentally handicapped—it would make him that much more of an asshole.

As he approached the cabin, all he saw was Nora sitting on the front porch, making a chain out of some pink flowers from nearby bushes. He groaned inwardly, cursing Merle for not making the young girl stay inside. He had felt so peaceful after his trip and now he had to deal with her berating him or some endless stream of questions he didn't feel like answering.

"Where's Merle?" Daryl asked off-handedly, flinging the string of squirrels over the porch railing. Nora didn't look up from the chain she was making, a look of intense concentration on her face.

"He said he was sleepy so he's taking a nap on the couch. I told him I would wait for you." Nora answered absently, continuing to twirl and bend the flowers to fit into her creation.

Cursing under his breath, Daryl banged through the front door and, indeed, Merle was asleep on the sofa.

"What the hell, Merle?" Daryl's voice echoed in the tiny room. Merle slowly struggled awake and sat up, stretching out his old limbs. He glanced up at Daryl, unaffected by the younger man's angry gaze.

"Well, hey there, Darylina, what's got yer panties in a twist now?" He asked, yawning nonchalantly. Daryl didn't have to look hard to notice the white dust on the man's nose.

"Nothin', 'cept yer stupid ass is snortin' that shit and ya leavin' our hostages free ta roam around as they please. What ya think I am, a babysitter?" He said, trying to keep himself from pummeling Merle.

Merle merely yawned in response, stretching his arms above his head. "Well, the little one seemed so entertained at her flower twirlin' I figured I could get me a little shut eye."

Daryl growled in frustration, throwing his hands in the air. "Merle, this was yer goddamn idea and I'm the one doin' the heavy liftin.' Ya said ya had a plan, now what is it?"

Merle eyed Daryl, taking in the younger man's clenched fists. "Careful there Darylina. Ya make fists at me ya better have the balls ta back 'em up. Or did ya leave those back in Clayton?"

Daryl's jaw tightened at Merle's tauntings, but he uncurled his fists nonetheless. He knew in a fight, Merle would probably kick his ass. Although they had many brawls in the past, he didn't want to do that now, not with the two women present. Since Merle wasn't doing his job, Daryl had to keep an eye on both girls to keep them in line.

"Jus' keep an eye on the one in there." He gestured with his head in the direction of the bedroom. "I got her zip tied but she's bound ta throw a fit when she wakes up."

Merle nodded. "Don't worry, little brother, I got a handle on it."

Daryl turned to exit the shack but called back over his shoulder. "Try not ta take any more of that shit for a while. Only gonna fuck things up fer us if yer not awake ta deal with a problem."

He hurried out of the house picking up the string of squirrels and a bucket filled with water from the front porch, and settled down on a fallen tree down the hill a ways. He took out his hunting knife and laid a squirrel on its back, preparing to start skinning it.

He noticed movement out of the corner of his eye and saw Nora approaching him slowly. He sighed, annoyed that he couldn't have more than a few hours of peace.

"What ya want, girl?" He asked gruffly. Maybe if he was enough of an asshole the girl would go back to making her flower chains.

"Are you…are you cutting him open?" She asked. He expected disgust but instead she sounded intrigued. Daryl didn't know what to make of that.

"Yeah…what of it?" he turned and started examining stones he could use to sharpen his knife. When he found one to his liking, he started sharpening the dull tip.

Nora crept closer, her curious eyes appraising the line of squirrels and rabbits. "Well, why? Can't you just go to a grocery store?"

Daryl snorted in disbelief. "I hunt so I can eat. Can't go to a grocery store, too expensive. Only thing we can do for food is hunt." He studied Nora, straining to see if she understood.

"Ok, so you hunt for food. That makes sense. Are you poor?" She asked.

Daryl cast her a sharp look, shocked at the audacity of her question. "Why ya ask somethin' like that? What's wrong with ya?"

Nora had shrunk back slightly at his angry response, for the first time showing some nervousness in his presence. Daryl immediately mentally smacked himself for his callous disregard. He couldn't say things like that to someone that was…special. He actually wasn't sure what to say to Nora at the moment and decided silence was the best option, hoping she would just lose interest and leave. He continued with skinning the squirrel in front of him, trying hard to keep his eyes off the young girl he could still feel staring at him. At first, he was uncomfortable. Then, he was irritated. Then, he felt guilty. Cursing, Daryl swallowed what little pride he had and looked at Nora, trying to keep his expression neutral.

"Listen, sorry, didn't mean ta snap at ya. We hunt ta eat. That's the end of it. Ain't gonna answer no more questions 'bout that, girl." He sat back and regarded Nora, gauging if she was still afraid.

Nora seemed to understand he wasn't still mad and she crept closer again, lingering uncertainly next to the tree.

Daryl sighed, knowing she wasn't going anywhere and and gestured with his hand. "C'mon, sit down if ya want."

Nora immediately broke into a shy smile and sat on the log; she stared down at the squirrel, then back up at Daryl as he continued sharpening his knife.

Can you…can you teach me how to do it?" She pointed at his knife and Daryl realized what she wanted him to do. His eyes widened in shock and he shook his head vigorously.

"No girl, yer sister'll kill me if I teach ya how to skin a squirrel and I don't want ya getting' hurt doin' it, anyways. Ain't somethin' someone like you should be doin'." He put the knife down and motioned toward the shack with his hands. "Why dontcha go back and jus' keep makin' yer flower chains or whatever the hell those things are, it's a lot safer."

Nora glowered down at him. "I can help! Missy and you both think I can't do things—but I can. I've got Down Syndrome, I'm not stupid!"

Her voice didn't rise, but Daryl could tell she was struggling not to yell at him. He swallowed hard, uncomfortable that she was calling him out. Daryl thought he and Merle had a problem with being blunt, but Nora took the cake. He looked down at his knife and continued sharpening, trying to avoid Nora's hard gaze.

"Thought ya didn't like the outdoors," he mumbled.

Now it was Nora's turn to fumble for words. "Well, I don't."

Daryl glanced up at her without fully raising his head. "Well, why ya want ta learn ta skin a damn squirrel then?"

"I..I..."

Nora's desperate struggle to come up with a reason made Daryl smirk slightly. He was actually amused at her audaciousness. "Ya just doin' it cuz ya sister ain't here, that it?"

This time when she spoke, Nora's voice came out softer, more pleading. "She wouldn't let me if she was awake. Please Mr. Daryl. I really want to learn."

Daryl studied Nora, realizing his initial discomfort at her presence was evolving into curiosity. He found her inquisitiveness and desire to understand things fascinating; that, and her ability to match him at sarcasm was something he could respect.

Nora's blue eyes looked at him imploringly and Daryl sighed in defeat. He had a feeling she was used to getting her way. "Fine. But if yer sister cuts my nuts off I'ma put an arrow in both yer asses."

He indicated Nora should sit down and finished sharpening the knife. He put the tip underneath the base of the squirrel's tail and glanced at Nora. She was watching him intently.

"If ya throw up on me, yer goin' back ta flower twirlin'," he warned, and Nora nodded in enthusiastic understanding. She was far too excited to be learning about this. Shaking his head in disbelief at what he was doing, he started cutting underneath the squirrel's tail.

"See, ya cut under the tail, like this but not too deep. Then ya gotta cut at the hind legs. Ya don't wanna cut the tail off cuz you'll need it fer later. Now, see here? I'm pullin' the skin off the hind legs." Daryl demonstrated by working his fingers through the muscle and pulling the skin loose from the meat and muscle.

"Ya do this fer both legs, than ya lay it on the ground." Daryl lay the partially skinned squirrel on the ground and put the tip of his work boot on the squirrel's tail.

"Now's the fun part. Ya gotta grab the hind legs ya just skinned…and yank upward." With a quick yank he pulled the squirrel carcass free from its skin, and paused when he got to the front arms. He worked the skin off the front legs and pulled them free. He had barely spilled a drop of blood.

"Now here's where ya need the knife again," he said, and sliced through the meat to the bone. He broke the bone in half and continued slicing until he had removed the remainder of the squirrels arms, legs and head so all that was left was a mound of bone and raw meat. He threw the unwanted bits back into the woods and removed a few remaining pieces of skin. Sitting back, he admired his handiwork.

Daryl hadn't looked at Nora this entire time, instead keeping his eyes on his work and mumbling instructions. He raised his head to see her staring at the now skin-free squirrel carcass and she raised her eyes to meet his. Instead of nausea, he saw a glint of excitement in her eyes.

"And then…you just cook it, right?" She asked with enthusiasm. Daryl nodded, not having the words to express his surprise at her lack of disgust at the whole process.

"Can I do it?" She asked all of a sudden, and he shrugged his shoulders. He figured he couldn't do much more to piss Melissa off, so he figured there was nothing wrong with one more little lesson. That and he really didn't want to go back to the house to deal with Merle. He was still pissed his brother had spent the afternoon high instead of getting stuff done around the cabin.

"Kay," he said, "But ya do it as I tell ya how ta do it. No tryin' ta be an expert on yer first try."

Nora nodded in eager understanding and he handed her a spare set of gloves he carried on him. They were big enough to swallow her tiny hands and Daryl shook his head, unsure of how the hell he had gotten himself in this little situation.


	9. Stereotypes

**AN: Well, here's another update! I'm going to try to keep updating once a week from here on out on Monday or Wednesday, but I'll see how it works out with school (literally, 60 hour work weeks all the time!). Anyway, thanks to all of you for reading, faving/following, reviewing...all of it! I really appreciate it and please let me know if there are things I am doing that could make the characters (any of them!) better, or just your thoughts in general :) I love to hear what people have to say and I have to say it gives me so much motivation to update :) Onto the story!  
**

_"Missy, come on! Ya telling me this is the best ya can do?" Lee Daniels held the boxing pads up in front of him as thirteen-year-old Melissa circled around him, her fists raised in a defensive stance. Melissa's brow was covered in sweat and she had streaks of dirt on her face. She made eye contact with her father and proceeded to repeat the pattern of hits he had taught her. _

_Jab right, jab left, uppercut right, uppercut right, jab left, high kick right, duck, knee grab, pull forward._

_Melissa grabbed her father's knee and pulled forward hard. His leg came out from underneath him and he fell to the ground on his back, dust billowing up around him as he landed hard. Melissa straightened triumphantly, wiping the sweat from her eyes and grinning down at her dad._

_"How was that old man?" She smirked down at her father and extended a hand to help him up. Lee grabbed her hand but instead of pulling himself up, he pulled Melissa back toward him so she landed on the ground next to him in a cloud of dust._

_"That's for the old man remark, ya little smart ass," he smirked over at her now that they were on eye level._

_"Dad! Now I'm even more dirty and mom's gonna be pissed," she moaned as she sat up and tried to rub the dirt from her once white t-shirt. _

_"Oh come on now, your mom's not that bad," Lee nudged her with his elbow and gave her a wink. "Just tell her I made you do it and she'll only be half as mad at you."_

_Lee removed the boxing pads and pushed himself to his feet, brushing the dirt off the back of his pants as best he could. He extended his hand and helped Melissa to her feet._

_"That was really good, honey," he remarked. "But it doesn't feel like you're puttin' enough muscle behind your punches. Remember, if someone comes at you, you want to really make them feel it."_

_Melissa rolled her eyes. Her dad's job always made him so paranoid. It was to the point that he had started to teach her to fight when she was nine. "Well, maybe you can't feel me hitting because we've been doing this for two hours and I'm exhausted. That and I'm like, half your size."_

_Lee chuckled and reached out, tousling his daughter's hair. It had come loose of its ponytail hours ago and now hung in dirty strands down her back, soaked in sweat._

_"All right, all right, I get the hint. Maybe we could try the combination one more time and call it a night? Don't want you too tired out before your track meet tomorrow." He slipped the pads back on and raised them. _

_"Now, this time, I really wanna feel the oomph behind it. Remember, if ya aim to hit someone, ya gotta mean it." _

_Melissa crinkled her nose. "But, Dad, seriously, when will I ever need to do this stuff? I mean, this is fun and all and I'm really excited to learn how to use Great-Grandpa's knife too….but am I ever really going to need it?"_

_"Ya never know honey. Besides…when did you ever hear of a dad giving his kid an excuse ta kick his ass?"_

_At this Melissa smiled and settled into a ready stance. Her dad raised the boxing pads and they resumed their afternoon of relaxation._

_She raised her leg in a high kick and…_

8888888888888888888

Melissa could first feel the soreness in her muscles as she started drifting awake from her dream. She groaned softly, trying to stretch but oddly enough her arms were stubbornly locked in place. Melissa slowly opened her eyes, looking down to see what was obstructing her movements. She saw the thin plastic zip ties around her wrists and ankles and the memories from the last twenty-four hours came crashing down like a battering ram. She was definitely wide awake now.

Oh God, why had she brought Nora along with these backwoods rednecks? What had she been thinking? She had been so desperate for a way out of Clayton she had insanely thought the best way to keep Nora safe was to drag her into being a hostage too…seriously, in what fucked up world was Nora safer with the Dixons than at home in Clayton? There were people there to watch her, to take of her. People like Clarence, like Addy.

_Addy…_

Melissa's thoughts were then filled with the memories of Addy and Clarence in the office, and her stomach lurched. If she hadn't brought Nora with her, Nora could have very well ended up like Addy. The thought of Nora like that was enough to almost send her over the edge. Melissa shut her eyes, trying to calm her breathing.

'I made the best decision I could at the time,' she thought.

Melissa tried to sit up to see her surroundings and was treated to a sudden head rush. She fell back against the pillows, her peripheral vision starting to darken. Melissa closed her eyes and willed the dizziness to go away, taking slow deep breaths and counting backwards from one hundred. When she could no longer feel the blood pounding in her ears, Melissa opened her eyes again.

More slowly and carefully this time so she wouldn't experience another dizzy spell, Melissa scooted her body until she was in a sitting position. She blinked a few times, gauging her equilibrium.

'Goddamn that redneck,' she thought, the recent memories of Daryl's pistol-whipping coming back to her. She took stock in her surroundings, trying to gauge where she was and how long she had been here. As far as Melissa could tell, she was in some sort of cabin, but from the looks of it, it was completely off the grid. She couldn't see any sort of light switches or electrical appliance, but then again she was closed off in some bedroom. She had no idea what the rest of the cabin looked like. The room she was in was basic, holding nothing more than the bed she was on and a heavy oak dresser against the far wall.

Melissa glanced through the window over the head of the bed and saw nothing but trees. So, it definitely looked like they had made it to Dahlonega. The only thing was, where the hell was everyone? The window was the only one in the room, and she couldn't see either of the Dixons or Nora in the narrow view of the outside it offered.

Cursing to herself, Melissa set about hastily trying to remove the zip ties. She could feel the plastic cutting into her skin and she knew she would have some nasty cuts after they were removed. She was so absorbed in her work that she almost jumped a foot high when the door to the bedroom opened and a large figure set itself in the doorway.

"Well, looky here, Sleepin' Beauty decided ta come to," Merle smirked, sidling into the room and sitting on the edge of the bed. "Was beginnin' ta think ya were never gonna get up and I'd have ta kiss ya ta get ya awake."

Melissa glared at him. "Merle, the only chance you would ever have with me is if I was unconscious." Getting past her initial annoyance she remembered why she was trying to get free in the first place. "Where's Nora?"

"Not sure. Last I seen her she was on the porch, but I took a nap fer awhile."

Melissa's eyes widened with alarm. "You mean you weren't keeping an eye on her? What the fuck is wrong with you?"

Merle only stood up and leaned against the wall, crossing his arms. "Now, that ain't no way ta treat yer host now, is it?"

"I hardly think you deserve any of my respect, Merle. I seem to remember you trying to kill my boss in a meth rage," Melissa retorted and Merle's eyebrows furrowed in annoyance.

"Listen here, sugar tits, way I see it, ya got two options. Ya kin stay in here tied up like an ass, or ya kin behave yerself and I'll let ya out. Choice is yers, so I'll leave ya ta think 'bout that."

Merle turned to leave and Melissa had to restrain herself from telling him to go screw himself. Like it or not, until she found Nora she was at the Dixons' mercy. She might as well cooperate. For now. Reluctantly, she called to Merle, "Stop. Ok…fine."

With a self-satisfied grin Merle pulled out a large Buck knife and cut the cord at Melissa's ankles. "Now, there, ya see? Ain't so hard ta be nice ta me."

Merle cut the ties on her wrists and slipped the knife back in its sheath. "Well, yer movin' around alright so I reckon Daryl didn't do too much damage when he hit ya. That's good. Means ya kin help out 'round here if yer gonna be earnin' yer keep."

Melissa paused from rubbing her wrists to restore circulation to look up at Merle in surprise. "Wait, what? Earn my keep? What are you talking about?"

Merle started walking out of the room and she quickly jumped off the bed to follow him.

"Don't allow no freeloaders here, darlin'. Ya stay here, ya work."

Melissa scoffed. "You have got to be kidding me."

Merle turned and gestured back to the bedroom. "Ya more n' welcome ta go back in there. Lemme jus' find more zip ties."

Rolling her eyes, Melissa crossed her arms. "So, this is your master plan, then? Bring my sister and I up here and we all go camping? Smart, real smart."

Merle leaned in so he was dangerously close and furrowed his brow. "Kin always take little Nora back n' leave her ta fend fer herself. Kin keep ya here, tie ya back up, maybe starve ya a bit. What ya think 'bout that?"

Melissa regarded him carefully and then smirked. "I don't believe you. You wouldn't dare."

Merle merely shrugged. "Don't wanna test a man with nothin' left ta lose."

Melissa could feel herself becoming wary and desperately fought to quell the feeling. She didn't want to think Merle was capable of doing what he said he would do, but right now he wasn't giving her a lot to go on.

The truth was, she didn't know how serious her head injury was, she had no idea where the hell they were, and trying to get herself and Nora out of this wilderness was going to be near to impossible, especially if the Dixons tried to chase them down. If she was on her own, she could probably manage, but with Nora, the thought of trying to keep herself and Nora going for days on end without food or a place to sleep was not an option. For now, she had to stay in the Dixons' good graces. For now.

Melissa made an executive decision and she hoped to God she wouldn't regret it later.

"Okay, we'll cooperate. But first I want to know where Nora is. Please, let me go find her."

Merle gestured outside with his thumb. "Fine then. She's out there with Daryl."

Melissa looked at him quizzically. "But I thought you said you didn't know where she was."

"So I lied."

Huffing, Melissa walked outside before she said something she truly regretted to the older Dixon.

88888888888888888

Daryl glanced in the bucket, estimating they only needed a few more squirrels to make enough stew for all four of them. He was impressed by Nora's quick progress in learning. She had quickly become engrossed in the activity and on her third attempt she was able to do it fairly well unassisted. He had shown her how to gut them as well and to his surprise Nora had picked up on that one quickly too.

Daryl spared a glance at Nora out of the corner of his eye and was again amazed at how absorbed she was in the work. He had tried to get her to take a break but she had merely waved him off with an annoyed wave of her hand. There was something about the intensity with which she worked that made him wonder if it wasn't stubbornness that was making her wave him off, but rather something else. She worked so diligently, as if she couldn't do anything else unless the task was done. He found it to be an admirable quality.

He took the next few moments to observe Nora working, her long blonde braid falling over her shoulder. He was amazed at how the two sisters were like night and day. Nora was a picture of delicate innocence, with the soft blonde hair and bright blue eyes to go with it. Daryl was disturbed at how easy it had been to manipulate Nora into leaving Clayton with them, as Melissa had done when she dangled the idea of a vacation to Nora back at the hotel. It was a dangerous thing to know about Nora, and Daryl made a mental note not to mention this knowledge to Merle.

Melissa was a different story altogether. He had to admit, she wasn't hard on the eyes. He was a man after all. She had a nice face, not the most beautiful he had seen, but she definitely had strong features, offset by her deep brown eyes. Her lean, strong figure probably came from hours of working out for her job. This spoke volumes to Daryl, who saw it as more of a sign of self-discipline than vanity. She didn't really seem to be the type to primp for hours in front of a mirror. She oozed caustic sarcasm and definitely wasn't afraid of a confrontation, that was for sure. Taking down Merle by herself and then her willingness to fight him back at his and Merle's house were a testament to that quality.

When he had first met her, he thought she was some snooty ice queen that had it out for him and his brother. He had been surprised, however, at the way Melissa had become almost vulnerable and hysterical when she thought Nora was in danger. She had instantly gone from an arrogant shit with a veritable stick up her ass, to someone intent on protecting her young with the ferocity of a mama lion. When they had found Nora, she had gone all soft, something he would never expected of her. It made him wonder if his initial assessment of her had been wrong.

The walking contradiction that was Melissa had him completely puzzled and Daryl found himself wondering how it was that she and Nora could even share the same bloodline.

At this point, the only similarity he saw between the two girls was their damn stubbornness.

Nora must have noticed him staring at her, because she looked at him and furrowed her brow in irritation. "What are you looking at?"

He shrugged his shoulders, trying to play off that he had been completely lost in thought. "Just thinkin' yer doin' a real good job with this stuff." Daryl motioned towards the bucket. "Between you n' me, we got enough fer dinner for a couple a days."

Nora grinned shyly, her cheeks flooding with color at his praise. "Really? You…do you think you could teach me other things about animals? Like where they live, how to hunt them…?"

Daryl put a hand up, cutting her off. "Don't get hasty, girl. Just cuz ya know how ta skin n' gut 'em, don't mean ya need ta be off in the woods tryin' ta hunt somethin' down. Get the hang of this first."

Nora opened her mouth to protest, but Daryl shook his head. "No use arguin' 'bout it. Ain't gonna take ya out there, not unless yer sister has anythin' ta say 'bout it. She's already gonna kick my ass fer teachin' ya this."

No sooner had the words left his mouth that he saw Melissa strutting up the hill in their direction, and from the way her fists were clenched he knew she was not happy.

"Lenore Jean Daniels!" Melissa's deep voice resonated up to them and he could see Nora's shoulders slump in disappointment. She knew she had been caught.

Daryl merely watched as Melissa stalked up. "Nora, what the heck is going on? What are you doing up here?" Her tone was even but Daryl saw her chest rising faster, fists clenched at her sides. He could tell she was trying hard as hell to maintain her cool.

Nora put the squirrel she had been skinning down and stood up, removing the gloves from her hands. "Nothing, Mr. Daryl was just teaching me how to skin squirrels. We're going to cook them for dinner!"

Despite being caught Nora sounded proud of herself. She pointed toward the bucket. "See? I've done five so far!"

Not bothering to look at the bucket, Melissa took a deep breath. She looked squarely at Nora. "Nora, I need you to go back to the cabin. I need to talk to Daryl-Mr. _Dixon_-for a few minutes."

"But—"

"Now, Nora! And I don't want an argument." Melissa pointed at the cabin and Nora followed her instructions, the disappointment evident in her face.

Daryl had merely gone back to skinning and gutting squirrels during this entire exchange. He wanted to stay out of whatever family drama these two had going on. When he heard Melissa say his name he glanced up to find her square in front of him.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" She hissed.

"She just wanted to learn how ta skin 'em." He threw another skin into the bucket keeping his gaze down.

"And you just took it upon yourself to teach her a dangerous activity involving sharp objects? And without even asking me? Why?"

He spared a glance in her direction and saw she had her hands on her hips.

Daryl shrugged his shoulders, trying to keep his cool. He didn't need her clucking at him about shit that didn't matter. "Couldn't ask ya…ya were kind of out of it."

"And whose fault is that I wonder?" Melissa asked hotly.

"Mine, I guess." He picked up another squirrel and continued cutting.

All of a sudden the bucket containing the squirrel carcasses was picked up and he looked up sharply to see Melissa setting it out of his reach.

"What the hell-" he started.

"You can look at me when I'm talking to you!" She spat. "You didn't answer my question, why would you teach her something like that?"

Daryl crossed his arms and stared at Melissa hard. "Figured it was better n' her wanderin' off."

"_You_ figured something would be good for her? You?" She asked incredulously. "Who the hell do you think you are?"

Daryl glared up at her. He was in no mood for this shit. "Listen here, lady, I don't know what yer problem is! She asked me ta teach her how ta skin 'em, I did. Seemed like she wanted ta help out 'round here. Didn't want her gettin' lost and havin' ta listen ta yer sorry ass bitch n' moan about it!"

"That's not the point!" Melissa's said sharply. "You are not her friend, you are her kidnapper, plain and simple. You are not looking out for her. Don't look at her, don't talk to her. She is my responsibility and I don't need a white trash piece of shit filling her head with ideas."

Daryl was on his feet and had shoved Melissa back up against a tree, one hand roughly grabbing her chin, the other bringing his knife at her throat. Daryl leaned in close to intimidate, his face mere inches from hers. The way he was holding her head, she couldn't look away. His lips curled in disgust at this judgmental bitch that talked about shit she knew nothing about. Daryl knew he was dirt, but he didn't need her reminding him. His initial assessment about her was correct. He knew in that moment he hated this woman.

Daryl felt his face reddening with fury, and his voice came out low and menacing. "Listen here, ya kin stay here, but from now on, ya stay outta my way. Ya say somethin' like that ta me again, ya best pray I don't kill ya."

Melissa hadn't even flinched at his words, and when he looked in her eyes all he saw was rage. When she spoke her tone held no emotion. "Fine."

With a grunt Daryl removed the knife from her throat, returning it to its sheath. He released her from his grasp and pushed himself back from the tree. Turning away, he grabbed up the bucket to make supper.

As he stalked away, Daryl clenched and unclenched his free hand, trying to ease his tension. He just needed to cook and be away from people for a while to calm himself.

An hour later, he had got the stew boiling. Daryl paced back and forth, keeping an eye on the food but still he hadn't been able to cool down. In frustration, he picked up his crossbow and shot at a tree, not aiming for anything in particular. He was pissed he couldn't relax. These woods were his domain, where he went to find sanctuary from the rough and tumble life he lived. He was pissed Merle had made him desecrate his refuge by bringing two outsiders into it. And most of all, he was pissed that he couldn't dispel the memory of the feel of Melissa's skin under his fingertips.


	10. Do We Have an Accord?

**AN: Whew! Well, I must say it's a miracle I got this thing out. Life is going a little crazy so I apologize that this is somewhat late. I am getting ahead in the chapters, though, so hopefully they should be coming faster! Also, should the chapters be shorter, or longer? ****I hate to bore anyone with long-winded narrative, it's just how I end up writing. **

**Also, to my reviewers :)**

**MaddyMarie1212: Haha, I do agree she is being a bitch. I actually base her off of a couple I know but they are my friends and fabulous people, so really they will turn out likeable in the long run! Also she does have Nora to think of and some of the reasons behind the bitchiness will be revealed in due course. Don't worry, though, her ice queen(ish) heart will soon begin to melt! Thanks for reading!**

**Leyshla Gisel: They will definitely calm down, but high octane rage can also mean high octane...something else? *wink wink, nudge nudge  
**

**Thank you to everyone for reading/faving/following, and if you haven't left a review I encourage you to do so. I love to know who's reading a story and it makes me motivated to write faster :)  
**

They didn't speak for a week.

When Melissa had returned to the cabin, she had calmly explained to Nora that she couldn't hang out with Mr. Dixon anymore since he was so busy. Nora had been disappointed at this outcome, but Melissa distracted her with the idea of other things to help out around the camp.

During the days, Melissa took it upon herself to chop wood and sent Nora out to gather kindling for the fire or fresh berries that Merle had told her were safe to eat. There were still a few arguments on what Nora was allowed to do when Melissa couldn't watch her directly, but in truth, Nora was happy to have something to do to help.

Merle had slyly suggested Melissa do their laundry in the creek but she had quickly shut down that line of thinking with a middle finger. He had only huffed and gone off to fetch water to boil. Daryl disappeared for hours on end in the woods, bringing back endless amounts of game but wouldn't look in her or Nora's direction. Melissa and Nora would take their food and retreat to the bedroom, eating either in silence or making small conversation. Surprisingly, for the most part, they co-existed rather well with the Dixon brothers.

Melissa was constantly wondering what was going on back in Clayton and kept an eye out for the police officers to come storming down on the Dixon compound. No one had come so far, and she was beginning to get impatient. She knew Bill didn't like her that much but he at least could hurry his ass up in finding them and getting her and Nora home. She was also continuously looking for a chance to make a getaway, but Merle or Daryl were always around in some capacity and she didn't want to risk Nora getting hurt.

They lived like this for six days, until Melissa decided that she and Nora needed clothes, amongst other "feminine" items. They had gone down to the creek frequently to bathe and tried to clean their clothes as best they could. Merle had insisted he join but had been immediately shut down by Melissa. It was becoming tedious and Melissa wanted to desperately wear something other than her police uniform, and Nora felt the same way about her own jeans and t-shirt. That, and Melissa's time of the month was fast approaching, and she drew the line at using leaves as feminine hygiene products. It didn't escape her that if she got Nora and herself down to the small town, they could make a break for it. She had been tentatively planning on an excuse for a trip all week. This was the perfect opportunity.

On the seventh day, she approached Merle. "Merle?" She asked.

The man was sitting whittling sticks into God knows what. He looked up at her out of the corner of his eye. "What ya need, darlin'?"

"I need to ask a favor," she said.

Merle regarded her with suspicion. Despite living with each other for a week, there was still little to no trust between them.

Melissa took a breath now that she had his attention. "We've been here a week, and if you haven't noticed, we haven't changed clothes in all that time." She gestured back toward the cabin.

Merle leaned back, annoyance flashing across his features. "Ya point is?" He was in a particularly boarish mood today, no doubt due to not taking any Crystal for two whole days. Melissa had "accidentally" found his Crystal stash and buried it a distance from the cabin. If he was jonesing at any point, she could use that distraction to her advantage when he took them to town.

"Well, unless you want us making clothes out of your bed sheets, I wanted to know if I could make a run into town to get clothes for us, and other, well, personal items down in Dahlonega." The suspicion returned to his face and Melissa help up her hands. "I promise, no funny stuff. Have I given you any reason all week not to trust me?"

Merle chewed on a piece of grass, his brow furrowed in a thought. "There's a gas station outta town ya kin go to. And there's a clothing store a mile outta town. Ya kin go there-"

Melissa almost started to grin, thrilled that her plan was going to work when he cut off her thoughts.

"An' ya kin take Daryl with ya. Nora will stay here with me." Merle concluded, the piece of grass almost chewed down to nothing.

Melissa's heart sank. "But Merle, I need her with me so we can try on clothes to get the right size, and I don't have much money—"

Merle shook his head. "I wasn't born yesterday girl. Know ya hid my stash somewhere, I always hide it in the same place an' you were alone in the house when it disappeared. Gonna take more than a few withdrawals ta make me go stupid. Yer smart, but yer not that smart."

Sighing in defeat, Melissa turned but Merle stopped her. "Girl, I know ya want outta here. But I can't let ya go. Not yet. So when ya go down there, ya cooperate fer Daryl—or the little one gets it."

88888888888888888888

Melissa sat on the log with Nora beside her, still mentally cursing at her failed attempt to get her and Nora away from the compound. Merle had said she and Daryl could go the next day to Dahlonega as long as she returned his Crystal stash, which she had done so begrudgingly.

She took another bite of the squirrel meat Daryl had cooked up for all of them earlier. Unfortunately, through eavesdropping on Daryl's conversations with Merle, there was a surprisingly extreme lack of wildlife in the woods for this time of year and he hadn't been able to bag that much game. It had been like this for the last few days and hunger pangs were becoming a constant reminder of the lack of food. Melissa found herself wishing for a big side beef when she heard a large growl. She grabbed her own stomach, realizing that it hadn't been her stomach that growled, but Nora's. She turned her attention beside her to her sister. Nora's head was bent, her face turning beet red.

"Are you still hungry?" She asked with concern.

"A little," Nora said quietly. "But I didn't want to bother you about it, Missy"

Melissa mentally smacked herself, realizing Nora had been forced to eat as little as Melissa had the last few days. Melissa knew she could survive for a few days without food, but Nora was still a growing teenager. She needed the food more than her.

"Lenore Jean, if you're hungry you need to tell me. Here, you can have mine," Melissa said soothingly, scraping the rest of her meager rations onto Nora's plate.

Nora smiled at her gratefully and quickly ate the rest of the food. "Is there more?" She asked hopefully, eyeing the two men that sat twenty-five yards away by the fire, their backs to the two women.

Melissa was about to quash Nora's line of thinking but her sister's hopeful gaze made her pause. The young girl really was good at getting things she wanted. Sighing, Melissa got up and approached Daryl and Merle. They looked at her as she walked up, Merle's look one of annoyance since he still hadn't had time to get high that afternoon. Daryl's was, well, just blank. He looked like he was looking right through her and it annoyed her. After all, he was the one that went against her wishes with Nora, _and_ held a knife to her throat, no less.

"What ya want girl?" Merle growled, his irritation evident.

"I was just wondering if there was any more food." Melissa stated, her eyes searching for any more food.

"What ya need food fer? Ya got same as both of us an' we're two growin' boys," Merle huffed.

"Well, I gave the rest of mine to Nora and she's still hungry. I just wanted to see if there was anything else I could give her. She hasn't had much to eat the last few days. Please, she needs more than I do." Melissa pleaded, feeling slightly helpless in the situation. She hated relying on the two bums for things she had once taken for granted. Her eyes went back and forth between the two men. While Merle met her gaze squarely, Daryl sat hunched over, looking down at his plate like he wanted to hide his face in his food. Melissa felt a sense of irritation at his avoidant reaction. Even if he didn't want to speak with her, did he really need to follow in Merle's shadow all the time?

Merle snorted, his annoyance seeming to evolve into anger before her very eyes. "This ain't a damn all ya can kin eat buffet ya stupid bitch! You an' yer little minion there get the same as everyone else. What makes ya think yer so special?"

Melissa put her hands on her hips, her face reddening with rage. "Don't you dare call her that again. Her name is Nora and she's worth one hundred of you and me. I'll leave you and _your_ little bitch to finish your meal."

She spun on her heel, still hearing Merle's angry ramblings as she sat and put her arm around Nora. "I'm afraid there isn't any more sweetie. Will you be ok?"

Nora's frowned in disappointment and it made Melissa's heart ache a little. She had made it her mission four years earlier to give Nora everything she needed and right now she felt like the biggest failure in the world. The fear that she would fail Nora was always at the back of her mind and right now it was gnawing at her.

Nora put her head on Melissa's shoulder, sighing. "It's ok Missy, I don't need anything."

"When I go out tomorrow I'll bring back something really good for you, I promise," Melissa said, absently twirling a lock of Nora's hair around her finger. Nora loved physical affection, and while it wasn't Melissa's cup of tea, she had gotten used to Nora's ways, albeit Nora was the only one she ever hugged anymore. Melissa gazed up into the forest, wondering what the next day was going to bring with Daryl. She was not looking forward to spending a moment more than she had to with him, much less a whole morning in a car. He had made it quite clear last time they talked he wanted nothing to do with her, not that she wasn't okay with that.

Her thoughts were interrupted when she saw Merle get up and head toward the cabin, turning back to yell to Daryl. "I'ma head out fer a little bit. Keep an eye on them two." He gestured with his head back to Melissa and Nora. Melissa had no doubt Merle was going off to get high and relieve the tension his withdrawals had manifested in the last two days.

Melissa saw movement out of the corner of her eye and saw Daryl get up and start heading toward them. She narrowed her eyes with suspicion as the man approached her and Nora. She stood up, still irked from her confrontation with Merle and ready to exchange words with the younger Dixon if he intended to cause trouble. Daryl came and stood in front of her silently, his eyes slightly downcast.

"What do you want?" She challenged, ready for a confrontation. Without a word, Daryl knelt to the ground and quickly straightened, turning to head fast in the opposite direction. Melissa glanced down and saw what he had laid at her feet. His full plate of food, barely touched. She looked back up at him in surprise.

"Hey, what's this?" She asked, dumbfounded.

Daryl paused midstride. He barely turned his head and mumbled softly, "for the girl."

Daryl continued his hurried pace away and Melissa was left to stare after him, and for one of the few times in her life, Melissa Daniels was left speechless.

88888888888888888888888888

As they drove down the highway to downtown Dahlonega, Melissa and Daryl sat in awkward silence. She stared out the window, trying to forget the angry words that had been exchanged between the brothers when Merle had informed Daryl he was driving Melissa down to go clothes-shopping. The phrase "need her like I need a hole in my head," had been thrown around and Melissa had quickly gone out of earshot so she wouldn't feel more uncomfortable than she already did.

Melissa had comforted Nora, letting her know she would be back soon with new clothes and hygienic items. Nora, however, didn't seem the slightest bit worried about Melissa and merely smiled wide when she heard she wouldn't have to wear the same ruddy clothes.

"Just make sure you get a pink shirt," Nora had informed her eagerly, as she had followed Melissa to the truck. "I'll just help Mr. Merle with stuff around here."

Melissa had drawn Nora into a hug and whispered in her ear, "You are not to let him teach you anything. No cutting up small animals or gut buckets, or anything of that nature. Also, no wandering off."

Nora huffed and went to turn, but Melissa had grabbed her gently by the arm. "Nora, please…I need to know you can do as I tell you. I just don't want anything to happen to you."

Nora sighed, signaling her understanding. "Yes, Missy."

Melissa's parting words to Merle before she and Daryl left were not just a threat, but a promise. "If something happens to her, I'll cut your balls off and make you eat them."

Merle had merely smirked and waved, hollering something about having a "pleasant ride."

'Cocky bastard,' she thought.

Now, she was in the car with Daryl and it was obvious he was doing his best not to look at her or even acknowledge her presence. Melissa's whole perspective on the man had been rattled the night before when he gave up his food for Nora. She had dissected his every motive for his actions, but she couldn't come up with a viable reason why.

He hated her. That much was obvious, so he wouldn't do it because he wanted to be friendly. And he didn't seem to have any ulterior motives with Melissa, not like Merle did. The only reason she could come up with was that he just genuinely wanted Nora to not go hungry. Almost, like he…cared? Melissa was beyond confused at this point and while she didn't like the younger Dixon, she began to wonder if she had made a big mistake in totally alienating him. The more she thought about it, the more guilt Melissa began to feel. The need to make it right with Daryl and also get rid of the unbearable awkwardness between them spurred her into action.

Melissa knew what she had to do. Swallowing her pride, she cleared her throat. "So, how long have you had a cabin up here?"

Daryl didn't answer, instead reaching into his pocket for a cigarette.

Melissa sighed. She wasn't going to be able to beat around the bush with this one. "Look, I know I'm the last person you want to be in a car with. But, I wanted you to know I'm sorry for what I said."

Daryl didn't say anything, but glanced at her out of the corner of his eye.

Melissa continued. "It wasn't true. You and Merle could have just told me to go fuck myself but you took me to get Nora. Your brother saved my life, and you helped me save her. I haven't thanked you for that. So, thank you, for that, and for giving her your food last night." She crossed her arms and stared out the window for a few seconds before adding quietly, "Listen, I know I'm a bitch, but she's the only family I have left and my biggest fear is losing her too."

She sat back in her seat. If he didn't forgive her, then whatever, but at least she had owned what she did.

Daryl lit his cigarette and blew the smoke out the cracked window. "Ya forgot ta thank me fer savin' yer life too, back in the hotel." He was referring to shooting Addy in the head.

Melissa's eyebrows came together in irritation. "Come on, I got her in the neck. I totally slowed her down."

Daryl shook his head. "Nah, don't count girl."

Huffing, Melissa conceded. "Fine. Thank you for saving my life. I owe you."

She could see him chew the inside of his cheek in her periphery. Before long he turned to her. "I get it. Ya were protecting yer sister. We're good." He took another long drag from the cigarette. "Yer still a bitch though."

Melissa chuckled lightly, feeling some of the heavy awkwardness between them lift. She took the opening he gave her. "Yeah, well, you and your brother aren't exactly my idea of peaches and cream. "

She thought she saw Daryl smirk slightly. "Ya sayin' ya don't appreciate the Dixon version of southern hospitality?"

Melissa smirked at this. "Well, you maybe, your brother not so much."

"Why ya say that?" Daryl asked lightly. He sounded slightly curious.

"Well, at least you don't follow everything I say with a sexual comment or have a constant need to stare at my ass," Melissa said with irritation. Sometimes Merle made her so angry she wanted to spit nails. She didn't see Daryl's eyes slide to where her backside met the seat only to quickly bounce back to look out the front window.

"Yeah, that's Merle. Ya get used to it after awhile." Daryl said, watching the signs on the road for the turnoff to the outskirts of Dahlonega. Silence fell between them again and Melissa tried to think of something to say.

"So, is your family from Clayton?" She asked.

Daryl glanced at her out of the corner of his eyes. "Ya askin' 'bout my family? Almost everyone in the police department knows my family girl, don't tell me ya don't know the history either. I know yer dad was the chief."

Melissa looked down, feeling a blush creep up her cheeks. It had indeed been a stupid question.

Melissa decided to change the subject by asking him about something she knew he liked. "So, how long have you known how to hunt?"

"Everyone in my family starts young. Ya gotta when it's the only way ya kin put food on the table." He said matter-of-factly.

"How old were you?"

"What is this, twenty questions?." He asked, slight irritation in his voice.

"Sorry, I'm just...just trying to make conversation is all."

"Well, we we've made plenty of conversation. Don't need ta get all personal and shit," he said roughly.

"Ok…sorry," she said, backing off on her questions, although she was a little disappointed. This was the most she had really ever heard the younger Dixon talk and she found herself genuinely curious in hearing about this part of his life. All of the stories she ever heard from other police officers or her father were about arrests and abuse.

"Did ya raise her?" Daryl asked suddenly and Melissa wasn't sure if she heard right.

"What?" She asked, slightly confused.

"Did ya raise her?" He repeated, not acknowledging her surprise.

Melissa furrowed her eyebrows, slightly annoyed. "Wait, so I can't ask you anything personal but you can ask _me_ anything you want? I don't think so."

Daryl glared out the front window and she saw his hand tighten on the steering wheel. "Just answer the damn question, woman."

Melissa sat back in the seat and crossed her arms, "No, I don't think I will. I'm not some object to be ordered around."

Daryl let out a sigh of exasperation. "Just thinkin' she's a good kid. If ya raised her, ya did a good job."

Melissa turned sharply to look at him, surprised by this sentiment. She had a good mind not to answer any of his questions but she also liked having another adult to talk to. "Well, I guess I sort of raised her. I was in New York but came back when I was twenty-four. Dad died ten years ago and when our mom died later I had to take care of Nora."

Daryl raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Ya did all that fer yer sister? Ya didn't think someone would adopt her?"

Melissa shrugged. "A twelve-year old special needs child? Not every parent's dream adoption—especially up here in the Georgia mountains. The courts would have put her in foster care. I couldn't let that happen."

"What was in New York?" He asked.

"I was in law school when all this stuff with my mom and Nora happened."

"Ya tellin' me yer a cop an' a lawyer?" Daryl looked like he had just tasted something bitter, and Melissa had to chuckle.

"Nope, just a cop. Dropped mid-semester so I could move home."

Daryl's brows furrowed. "Was about ta think Merle n' me had the worst luck outta anyone out there."

Melissa half-smiled, amused at this thought. "Guess y'all are luckier than you thought."

They rode in a much more comfortable silence until they reached they reached the small boutique outside of Dahlonega. It was far enough away they wouldn't draw any suspicion from people in town. The sign read it was open.

"Remember, in an' out," was all Daryl grumbled before they exited the car to enter the boutique. Daryl left his crossbow in the truck. It wouldn't do to bring a heavy-duty hunting weapon inside.

Melissa didn't see any other customers or a sales clerk, which she found strange since there were three cars in the parking lot. Shrugging, she made a mental note to grab a cashier when she had found what she needed.

Melissa picked up a pink shirt, smiling as she thought of Nora. Her sister would adore it. She was putting the clothes over her arm when she thought she heard a noise. Looking up, Melissa looked around the store. She didn't see anyone, including Daryl.

Curious, Melissa looked out the front window toward the truck. Daryl wasn't there. Melissa turned back to look at the store, a shiver running up her spine. Something wasn't right.

"Daryl?" She called out softly, trying to see where the hunter had gone off to. Melissa dropped the pile of clothes she was holding on the ground and started walking slowly between the racks of clothes, keeping her eyes trained on her surroundings. There was no movement, or indication of anyone there. Something definitely wasn't right.

"Daryl?" She called again. Melissa was just about to turn the corner to small back section of the store when she felt a hand wrap around her arm and roughly pull her back, a rough hand clamping over her mouth. She went to fight but the person had her in a bear hug from behind. She elbowed her attacker in the ribs and heard a soft curse. Daryl let her go, turning her to face him.

"Daryl, what the hell," was all she got out before he put a finger to her lips, indicating silence.

She looked at him questioningly but all he did was point toward the corner, shaking his head. Melissa peeked around the corner and had to put her own hand over her mouth to stifle a gasp. On the floor lay a bloody heap, pieces of flesh and tissue scattered around the human remains. Melissa was horrified, but the cop in her made her creep closer. She could hear Daryl cursing under his breath but he followed her anyway.

Melissa knelt down by the bloody mass, inspecting it for any signs of identification. Looking down at the nametag, she read the name. "Amber."

"That's a mess," Daryl murmured, kneeling down beside her to inspect the corpse.

"Yeah. Looks like Clarence did," Melissa said, the all too fresh memories coming back to her from the week before. "The same thing that happened to Addy must have happened to someone else and they got this poor girl here. This sickness is spreading. We need to get back to-"

The sounds of shrill roars pierced their ears and Melissa and Daryl whirled to see two figures, a man and a woman as far as she could tell, lumbering toward them. Their skin was blue as if all the circulation had been cut off and their eyes were glazed over and milky white. Their jerky, awkward movements would have almost been comical if it weren't for the blood smears all over their faces.

They ambled to the back of the store and Melissa saw there wasn't enough room to get around the two figures. Daryl quickly unsheathed his knife and pushed her behind him, holding up the weapon. The large male figure came toward them and Daryl lunged forward, tackling the man to the ground.

The female suddenly seemed to notice Melissa and ambled toward her. Melissa backed away from her, the images of Addy still fresh in her mind.

"Ma'am! You don't want to do this!" She cried but the woman kept coming. The female stretched her arms out, her teeth gnashing. Melissa didn't know what was wrong with these people but she knew she was going to stay away from those teeth.

Running forward, Melissa rammed her shoulder into the female's stomach, bringing them both to the ground. She rolled so she was straddling the woman. Melissa tried to pin the woman's hands with both of hers but the woman was too fast, reaching up and grabbing Melissa's hair. She yanked Melissa's head down and Melissa could feel the air from the woman's gnashing teeth as they tried to chomp down on her neck. Melissa jerked her head back out of the female's grasp, falling squarely on her back. She got a side glance of Daryl who was still grappling with the man on the ground and Melissa could only later attribute her epiphany in that moment to divine intervention. She remembered the shot that had stopped the man on the highway and the shot that had taken down Addy. Both head shots.

The female fell on top of her, pinning her down. Melissa swung her right arm and it connected with the side of the woman's head, knocking her off balance. The female put her hands on Melissa's shoulders, holding her down, and descended like lightning, her mouth open and teeth glistening. Melissa brought her head up, head butting the woman in the forehead and the woman fell back, loosening her grip on Melissa's shoulders. Melissa took the opportunity and grabbed the woman's sleeves. Holding tight she rolled her body with more force than she thought possible and then she was sitting on top of the female, effectively reversing their positions.

Melissa scrambled to her feet and stumbled backwards, falling back into a roped off display case and breaking through the glass. She could feel tiny cuts all over her arms from the glass but again she jumped to her feet, backing away from the woman who was now ambling toward her, the look in her eyes that of a wild animal. Melissa's gaze fell on one of the heavy metal stands holding the rope up and she lifted it, aiming the base at the woman's chest.

"Don't make me do this," She said again, but still the female ambled toward her. With desperation Melissa ran forward, shoving the base of the stand into the woman's chest, knocking her down so she was sprawled out on his back. With a cry Melissa lifted the stand and brought the heavy base down on the woman's head. She could feel the breaking of bone and tissue as she continued hitting the female. When she found herself hitting bare floor Melissa tore her gaze to Daryl, who was shoving the large man back after plunging his knife in the man's heart. The man didn't even falter.

"Here! Push him down!" Melissa screamed and Daryl pushed the man hard so the man lay on the ground. With a grunt Melissa lifted the heavy stand again and brought it down on the man's head, feeling his skull give way under the pressure. The man instantly stopped moving and Melissa sank to the ground amidst piles of brain matter and blood, exhausted. She stared at the bloody pulp of the man's body in front of her, not able to look away.

Before she knew it she felt Daryl's hand on her arm, pulling her roughly upward. "Ya alright?"

Melissa's vision focused and she saw Daryl standing in front of her, panting heavily.

Melissa looked back at him, her senses slowly returning. "Yes, I'm ok. Just got some cuts, that's all. Are you?"

Daryl nodded, his blue eyes grim with the reality of what just happened to them. "I think that's enough shoppin' fer today."

88888888888888888888

As they climbed into the truck, Daryl turned on the car and leaned back pulling out a cigarette. He needed a smoke after the shit that just went down. He offered Melissa one and she only shook her head, her mouth in a thin line.

"No. Thank you." They sat in silence in the truck for a few moments while Daryl smoked, both trying to come to terms with what had just gone down in the store. When he looked over he saw Melissa had gone from her normal tan to a concerning shade of grayish-white.

"Hey," he said, a hint of concern in his voice. "Ya sure yer okay?"

Melissa turned slowly to him. He wondered if she was in shock. "I killed those people in there. I'm a cop and I killed them."

"Yeah, ya did. But I don't think those are people we're dealin' with" Daryl said, trying to stay matter of fact. "They was just like that woman ya knew back home. Somethin' ain't right with them, ya know that. Ya did good in there."

Although some of her color returned, Melissa's eyes grew watery and Daryl wondered for a second if she was going to cry. That freaked him out enough he was about to reach into the glove compartment and give her one of Merle's Oxy when she surprised him. She started laughing. Hysterically.

"Hey, now, ya okay?" He asked, slightly dumbstruck.

"Okay? I'm stuck out in bumblefuck nowhere with two rednecks that hate my guts, my sister is slicing animals into little pieces, and I just bashed in two people's brains that I think were trying to eat me. You tell me, would _you_ be okay?" Melissa continued her maniacal laughing, burying her face in her hands and panting for breath, eventually starting to hyperventilate.

"C'mon girl, need ya ta hold it together," Daryl pleaded. He was already rattled from what went down in the store and he did not need to deal with a nervous breakdown.

Reacting on instinct he reached out, grabbing Melissa's face between his hands, trying to get her to look at him. "Just breathe girl," he muttered, hoping she would come to her senses soon.

It was a long ago memory for Daryl, but he remembered when he was younger, his mother would have panic attacks when she was having alcohol withdrawals, so he decided to try what he would do with her to calm her down. Daryl started taking slow deep breaths, meeting Melissa's panic-filled eyes and nodding for her to mimic his movements. Melissa grabbed his wrists and her grip tightened, as if holding on for dear life. She joined in and soon Melissa's breaths matched his own, slow and steady. Her eyes were watering and Daryl removed his hands gently from her face to reach into his pocket and hand her a rag.

"I'm sorry, sorry, oh God, please don't think I'm nuts," she mumbled as she dabbed at her eyes.

"Yer not crazy girl. Lotsa shit went down this week," he said.

"I think it's safe to say whatever's happening in Clayton is happening here too. If that's the case, the whole city could be infected. Like home." She said and Daryl noticed her nose scrunched as she thought. Leaning forward, Melissa turned on the radio.

"What ya need music fer?" Daryl asked, a hint of annoyance in his voice.

"Will you calm down? I don't want to listen to music. If there's any news stations maybe they're broadcasting what's happening. Maybe they have news on what's going on." Melissa turned the dial until she could find a station with clear signal. A man's voice sounded through the crackly reception:

_The Office of Civil Defense has issued the following message: This is a civil emergency warning. Regularly scheduled broadcasts have ceased. Emergency shelters have been set up in Atlanta, Augusta, and Macon city centers. Make your way to the nearest shelter immediately. Do not engage any of the infected. The Emergency Alert System has been activated._

Melissa and Daryl stared at each other as the looped warning message started again. Daryl finished his cigarette, stubbing it out on the dashboard.

"This is bigger n' Clayton," he murmured.

Melissa pursed her lips, furrowing her brow. She turned to Daryl, the concern in her eyes evident. "We have to leave. We have to go to Atlanta, it's the closest shelter."

Daryl nodded, throwing the gear into reverse and backing out of the space. As they pulled out of the parking lo,t he rolled down the window and murmured under his breath, "Merle's gonna be pissed."

"By the way," Melissa said, "can you just…not tell your brother I had a total meltdown? If he knows I went soft for a second I won't hear anything but comments about my ass or 'bumpin' uglies' for the next week."

Melissa's eyes were imploring his and Daryl raised an eyebrow. "Ya tryin' ta maintain an image or somethin'? Wanna be seen as a hard ass?"

Melissa looked down and Daryl could see a blush come into her cheeks. "I just…I don't have many girl moments…like that. It's something I try not to do in front of other people. If we could keep this between us, I'd really appreciate it."

When Daryl didn't answer right away Melissa looked back up to meet his gaze and he swore he saw a glint of mischief in them. "I won't even tell Merle I had to save your life."

Daryl's brow furrowed in confusion. "What ya mean?"

A corner of Melissa's mouth turned in a slight smirk. "I'm sure your brother would be very impressed to know a _woman_ had to save your ass."

Daryl felt his face heat up and he had a good mind to slap that smug look off her face. "Ya tryin' ta blackmail me?"

"My rep stays intact, so does yours. We both win." Melissa's grin only widened and Daryl swore under his breath. He _did_ hate to think of the endless ragging from Merle if he knew Melissa had figured out how to kill_ and _taken down both of their attackers before he did. Daryl mentally cursed at her. She had him at a disadvantage and she knew it.

Reluctantly, he nodded his head. "Fine, but one word ta Merle an' you'll know what an arrow in the ass feels like."

"Deal." Melissa turned back to look out the window and he could see a satisfied smile gracing her lips.

"Yep, yer still a bitch," he mumbled, gunning the engine as Melissa's chuckles filled his cab.


End file.
